Here With You
by Pandora147
Summary: Follows the blossoming love of Troy and Gabriella following the successful call back auditions; as well as exploring the general triumphs and tribulations of life. TxG. COMPLETE.
1. The Start of Something New

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Welcome to my first HSM fan fic. Don't expect anything spectacular. Basically, I have jillions of post HSM2 ideas floating around in my head, but thought that first I would use this fic as a training exercise to see how I go with characterisation etc. Essentially it is yet another – fill in the gaps between HSM1 and 2 fic. **

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**HERE WITH YOU**

**Chapter 1 – The Start of Something New**

_I know that something has changed_

_Never felt this way_

_And right here tonight_

_This could be the start of something new_

_It feels so right to be here with you_

_And now looking in your eyes_

_I feel in my heart_

_The start of something new_

_- 'The Start of Something New' by Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Drew Seeley and Zac Efron_

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East High was united in celebration. Performers, cheerleaders, brainiacs, jocks – as well as teachers and parents – had come together. The East High gymnasium had been transformed into an impromptu celebratory party. The school was one which in the past had placed emphasis upon its sporting excellence program. Principle Matsui's office featured basketball themed décor and he actively supported the endeavours of the schools sporting teams, providing resources to Coach Bolton and the rest of the physical education faculty – although if asked, the principal would of course profusely deny any favouritism.

The collaboration between the Wildcats and scholastic decathlon team in the lead up to the Twinkle Towne call backs were largely responsible for the evolution in school spirit. A Wildcat pride which acknowledged all of the afternoons achievements. And at the centre of the celebration were the two young shining stars, Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton.

Troy was fielding questions left, right and centre, with people wanting to know all about the winning play of the match, when the singing all began – as well as girls generally vying for his attention. Troy's father and basketball coach had taken the liberty to introduce Troy to several college scouts mingling at the party. Not to mention the conversation topic of the hour…

"You've gotten yourself into a wild ride with that musical!" A random parent he was chatting to informed him.

"With all the rehearsals, how are you going to have time to keep your shape up for next season?" His English teacher asked.

This was supposed to be an after party, a celebration, a chance to unwind and relax after all of the stress of the past weeks. Instead it had become yet another set of obligations in the life of Troy Bolton.

Gabriella was also in the limelight, people wanting to meet the new girl at East High who had so quickly made such a significant impact. Several boys seemed to have had an epiphany – realising that smart chicks can be hot. So many people had come up and introduced themselves to her that she doubted she would recall a single name. Not to mention that some of the members of the drama club who were pleased to see Sharpay be bested, were flocking around Gabriella.

"This is going to be so awesome! We're going to have so much fun!" one of the girls exclaimed.

"There will be plenty of time to get to know each other, you'll feel like you live in that auditorium soon," another one informed Gabriella with a giggle.

Several of the teachers from the senior mathematics and science departments had Gabriella, wanting to get into long winded conversations about college prep classes. She was beginning to feel rather overwhelmed.

The Wildcats were right into the swing of the celebrations. A few of the boys on the team had brought in some 'cooler' CDs than the school had provided, and cranked up the music. The gymnasium passed for a pretty good dance floor. The cheerleaders of course got right into the dancing, encouraging other students to join in and celebrate. Martha, one of the girls from the scholastic decathlon team, was very excited with the change in the music and abandoned her teammates to join in.

Kelsi had at first felt rather out of place. However she was excited about the upcoming musical and honoured that Gabriella and Troy had given her composition the spirit and life it deserved. So she allowed herself to be dragged to the after party, all the while wishing she was alone with her imagination, a piano, a pencil and som blank sheet music.. However the Wildcat boys had taken her under their wing – in particular, Jason had taken it upon himself to introduce her to the other boys in the team. She had been working so hard for the drama club since joining, and was really excited about her composition.

Ryan Evans had been standing off to the side of the party. He was dealing with the aftermath of the auditions a lot better than his sister, although for her benefit he had pretended to be utterly devastated. The truth was that there was a silver lining to the situation – not playing the lead in the musical would provide him with some spare time to take an extra class at his dance academy, which would officially certify him to teach dance classes. Ryan saw Martha grooving away with her hip hop dancing and was fascinated. He spontaneously ran out to join her.

"Hey, can you teach me some of that?" Ryan asked, raising his voice to be heard over the music.

Martha grinned and responded enthusiastically, "Sure!" and proceeded to go through some steps.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the school, Sharpay Evans sat backstage in the auditorium. She was curled up in the pink fluffy armchair she had already had brought into her dressing room – that's right, _her_ dressing room. She had made nice, gone to the after party for a bit, pretended to be happy. The truth was, that Sharpay was feeling rather lost. Her life centred around school productions – specifically, being the lead in school productions. If she wasn't a musical theatre actress – what was she? A tear glistened on her cheek. Sharpay mindlessly took a bite from one of the cookies the tall basketball guy… what was his name again? Zac?... had given her. She gasped.

"I think this is the best thing I've ever had in my mouth," Sharpay exclaimed.

Troy finally escaped yet another polite chit chat with one of his teachers who wanted to congratulate him on his multiple talents. He scanned his eyes across the room. The one person he wanted to be celebrating with, and amidst the chaos he had been so caught up in his own world that he'd hardly seen her. He spotted Chad and Taylor were sitting on the bleachers, talking to one another. Or rather, bickering.

"You are so infuriating Chad Danforth!" Taylor said, sounding impatient.

"Are you going to spend the rest of tonight criticising me?" Chad asked.

"If I think that you've done something that needs criticising than most probably," Taylor responded.

"Then maybe I'll keep saying dumb things because you look really hot when you're yelling at me," Chad replied smoothly.

"I... What?" Taylor softened. "I look what?"

"Hot. Yes that's right Taylor, I just admitted that you are hot. I think you should take advantage of this while you can."

Taylor's eyes widened as Chad leaned towards her. She, president of the Chemistry Club, driving force behind the scholastic decathlon team, academic whiz Taylor McKessie was about to be kissed by Chad Danforth.

"Hey dude," Troy said with a cheery smirk, interrupting the moment. "Payback yeah?"

"Touché," Chad said, with a groan.

"Hello Troy," Taylor said in a strained tone, clearly sounding annoyed.

"Would you happen to have seen Gabriella about?" Troy asked.

"Isn't that her over there?" Taylor asked, pointing over the opposite end of the gymnasium.

Surely enough, there she was. She was talking to the heads of department of both the science and math faculty at one time. He winced. Great way to celebrate – with more equations and chemicals! He moved over closer to her, not taking his eyes off her. No way was he going to give up talking to her this time.

Gabriella felt like she was being watched. She glanced around and saw Troy. He was standing by the punch bowl, grinning at her. She rolled her eyes at him. She was trying to communicate to him subliminally – please save me from this boredom.

He approached the group casually and greeted with equal nonchalance, "Hello all."

"Mr Davis, Mrs Jenkins, you both know Troy Bolton don't you?" Gabriella said politely.

Mr David held his hand out to Troy. "Hadn't met personally but of course we all know you. I caught the end of the game – nice shot you made there."

"Thank you sir. Would the two of you mind if I stole Gabriella from you? Miss Darbus wanted to speak to us about something."

"Certainly."

Troy took Gabriella's hand and led her away. "Not more teachers Troy, I can't handle it, especially not Miss Darbus."

"It was an excuse silly. Let's go hide now before someone else stops to chit chat."

Troy held her hand the whole way. She knew where he was leading her. His heart was pounding as they headed through the corridors. During all of Troy's last small talk conversation, he'd been playing a different scene in his head, a scene he had been playing since New Years Eve. A scene that had almost come to fruition, if it hadn't been for Chad's infuriating disturbance. Well it was going to happen. There was no way that Troy could spend another moment with Gabriella Montez without it happening.

Finally they had arrived at the secret rooftop garden. Well apparently it wasn't such a secret, seeing as his mates had found him here. Nevertheless, it was Troy's place of sanctuary, where he came to escape from chaos.

"It's so beautiful up here," Gabriella sighed.

Troy cleared his throat. She turned to him, realising he was going to say something, and waited expectantly.

Troy was very infrequently lost for words. One of the reasons why he enjoyed being around Gabriella was that they were so comfortable around one another, despite having known each other for such a short time. So each time Troy had played the scene over in his mind, there was a speech that came attached. Where he told Gabriella how much he liked her and all the things that were so brilliant and charming and dazzling about her. But in the moment, his mind was completely blank, all of the preparation lost.

He cleared his throat. "Uh… right… so there's something that I… that I have to… something I've wanted to do since…" Troy gave up trying to form the words, and decided that the better course of action was exactly that – action. "Oh fuck it."

Troy stepped toward Gabriella, took her hands in his, and very sweetly and softly pressed his lips to hers.

Gabriella couldn't speak. She wanted to tell him how she'd been waiting for so long for that moment because she liked him so much… but then again words weren't necessary. Eyes meeting in an unmistakable gaze. A gaze which communicated everything that needed to be said in silence.

Troy was the first to break the moment. "Uh… so… this musical. Seems like it's pretty big. Lots of work so I hear."

Gabriella took a seat on the bench. "So everyone keeps telling me… hours and hours of rehearsals. Just for one high school show."

"Well after what we've gone through to get these parts, the rest should be a breeze." Troy was trying to sound confident but the mask was transparent to Gabriella.

"You don't have to be the tough guy with me Troy, you know just as well as I do that this is going to be really hard."

"Yeah. But I guess I like to keep positive."

"True. It is meant to be fun… that's why we're doing it right. Because we love it?"

"Well… if you're going to be there through it all then yeah, I think I'll be loving it," Troy said with a shy smile, to which Gabriella blushed.

The comfort level between the two returned in full force. Secluded in their private haven, Troy and Gabriella sat and talked for a long time. It was mainly small talk – school, the musical, swapping stories from the decathlon and basketball game, the budding romance between Taylor and Chad. Troy finally dared to glance at his watch.

"Wow… it's getting late," he said in amazement. They'd been talking for almost an hour, but it had felt like barely minutes.

Gabriella looked at the time. "I can't believe my mom hasn't called yet. I should probably find her…"

"And I should find my parents. The party will die down soon anyway. It's no fun without pink jelly."

Gabriella was confused. "Huh?"

"Oh… you weren't there for that. It's weird, I forget sometimes that you haven't been here that long," Troy admitted.

"Feels like we've known each other longer, doesn't it?" Gabriella commented. "So uh… what's this pink jelly I'm missing out on knowing about?"

Troy coughed. "Uh… there are many embarrassing stories which require much more time than we have to explain. Maybe another time."

"Embarrassing Troy stories? This I have to hear. I'll hold you to that," Gabriella teased.

They headed back down the stairs and in the direction of the gymnasium.

"So… I guess I'll see you on Monday then," Troy said as they reached the door.

He was right, the party had died down significantly, with just a few people scattered about. He took a deep breath as he contemplated the moment. Troy so badly wanted to kiss her again.

"Gabriella, there you are sweetheart," Gabriella's mom said, coming over to them.

Gabriella was disappointed to have her goodbye to Troy interrupted, but kept it to herself.

"Sorry mom, I didn't realise how late it was."

"That's fine, you have lots of celebrate." Miss Montez smiled at Troy. "Hello Troy.

"Hi Miss Montez."

"We should get going home."

Gabriella nodded. "Okay. Uh…" she turned to Troy. "I guess I'll see you Monday, then."

"Bet on it."

Miss Montez led Gabriella in the direction of the general car park. She glanced behind her. Troy was watching as she walked away. She bit her lip and flashed him one last smile. Troy turned to head into the gym, feeling rather dazed. He had done it. He had kissed her. He'd kissed girls before but… somehow, this was different. It was special. Troy couldn't help but hope that it was just the first of many kisses to come.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So there you have it, chapter one of the first fan fic I've posted since I was like 14 and fangirling 'The Practice.' I just wanted to reiterate and acknowledge that I'm not aiming to write a particularly original piece, rather it's just another exploration of how Troy, Gabriella and co get from HSM1 to HSM2. I wouldn't be surprised if most of my plot ideas have been written and rewritten but since I'm new to this fandom, I haven't actually gone through all the stories out there. So umm yes… if anyone actually read this, I hope it wasn't completely abysmal! **


	2. Belonging

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. Additionally I do not own the film 'Never Been Kissed' from which I have sourced my opening quote; nor do I own Harry Potter which I have directly referenced. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well I've been working on this for a while so I've got a few chapters pretty much sorted. So I thought I'd put another up already – why not hey. Thanks so much to xxZanessaxx and troyellaisbomb for their reviews – putting up the first chapter of my first fic in this fandom was a nerve wracking experience so it was good to know that someone is not only reading but also liked it! **

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**HERE WITH YOU**

**Chapter 2 – Belonging **

"_All of you people, there is a big world out there... bigger than prom, bigger than high school and it won't matter if you were the prom queen, the quarterback of the football team, or the biggest nerd in school. Find out who you are and try not to be afraid of it." _

– _Josie Geller in 'Never Been Kissed'_

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It was customary for homeroom to be chaotic, especially on a Monday morning. But the Monday following the scholastic decathlon, basketball championship and musical call back was bordering upon bedlam. Students were still on the celebratory high that had ended the previous week.

"The cheerleaders were going off on Friday, we had a new chant and everything. The crowd loved it! Come on girls, lets show them," Monica, one of the cheerleaders, called the girls from the squad to stand up and join her.

In the middle of homeroom, three Wildcats cheerleaders began to demonstrate for anyone who cared to watch the chant which the crowd had responded to. "Wildcats sing a lot, we've really got it going on, Wildcats in the house, everybody say it now!" The girls chanted, legs kicking, arms flailing.

Chad came sauntering into the room, basketball under his arm. "Don't you girls ever take a day off?"

They giggled. A cute, petite brunette cheerleader came over to him and stood right next to him, flirtatiously greeting him with a seductive, "Hi Chad."

Just a week ago, Chad would have responded back with equal flirtation. But now, his priorities had changed. He smiled back politely – after all, he had a reputation to maintain – but went over to his desk without further conversation. On the way he winked at Taylor, who was seated at her desk behind Chad's with a textbook open in front of her. She smiled in return, and gave him a little wave.

"Dudes, how you doing?" he greeted the boys.

Chad sat down on top of his desk, legs dangling in front of him. He was facing Troy, who was sitting on his desk, feet resting on the chair. Zeke and Jason had pulled the chairs from their desks over to chill out next to Troy and Chad's desks.

"I need a day off, that's for sure," Zeke said with a laugh.

"Trust Coach Bolton to have us practice on the Saturday after we win the championship," Chad groaned.

"Trust you to call us all up for a two on two on the Sunday after we win the championship," Jason added, punching Chad lightly on the arm.

Another one of the guys from the basketball team arrived, inspiring the cheerleaders to burst into a cheer of

Gimme an 'S', eventually spelling out Scott.

"Hey boys," Scott called, greeting Troy and his mates.

"Sup man," Zeke greeted him.

Sharpay was next to arrive. She strutted into the room. For Sharpay, arriving at school was more than arriving at school. It was about making an entrance. Sharpay didn't walk, she strutted. Sharpay didn't talk – she commanded attention.

"Ryan! Why did you leave without me?" she asked her brother, sounding furious.

Sharpay and Ryan did everything together, so for him to leave the house without her was inexcusable. Additionally, they were closely associated with one another, being twins and co presidents of the drama club. So Sharpay firmly believed that the people who Ryan associated with directly reflected upon Sharpay. She wasn't impressed to see her brother in the corner, chatting with a girl who Sharpay had never spoken to in her life. The girl was showing Ryan a dance move that offended Sharpay and her sense of theatrical showmanship.

The twins began to bicker in the middle of the room and by the looks of it, Sharpay as usual was emerging as the dominant one.

"Sharpay looks so cute today," Zeke said quietly to Jason, gesturing to where Sharpay had finally sat down. She had a compact out and was reapplying lipgloss.

"Dude, this thing with you liking Sharpay – it's kind of fucked," Jason said bluntly.

"I told you she said she loves my cookies, didn't I? She said they are genius."

"Yeah you told us, we heard you the first eighty five times when you told us," Chad said impatiently.

Troy hadn't said anything for a while. In fact he hadn't said anything since Chad had arrived. Chad followed Troy's gaze toward the empty seat at the back at the room.

"So, where's your girlfriend?" he asked his friend.

"She's NOT my girlfriend," Troy insisted.

Chad grinned knowingly. "Yet."

"Attention, attention students," Miss Darbus tried in vain to begin the class, but her voice was lost amongst the din of students.

Gabriella came rushing into the room at that moment, looking flustered. She had overslept, luckily her mom had given her a ride to school and she had just barely made it. She was taken aback by the noise level – between the bickering between Sharpay and Ryan and the chirpy chanting cheerleaders, the decibel level would be higher than normal. Let alone the rest of the students who were talking noisily. Amidst the chaos, Gabriella caught Troy's eye.

Troy froze, seeing she had entered, shyly smiling in her direction. 'Wow she looks beautiful,' Troy thought.

"Morning," he mouthed.

She waved in reply, frozen by the door. For a few moments, it was as though the other students didn't exist. Troy and Gabriella existed in their own world, gazing into one another's eyes.

"Students!! The bell rang two minutes ago!!" Miss Darbus shouted. "Miss Montez, have you forgotten where your seat is? Would you like to come and see me for detention this afternoon?"

The word detention destroyed not only the moment between Troy and Gabriella but additionally all of the fun. Students began to slink back to their places. Gabriella was blushing, feeling embarrassed. Taylor smiled at her comfortingly as she passed her friends desk.

"Mr Bolton, Mr Danforth, is there a chair shortage at East High?" The boys looked at each other. "Take your seats now! The weekend is over everyone, another school week is upon us."

A text message tone sounded. Miss Darbus looked to where the sound came from. Both Sharpay and Ryan had cell phones out, and were typing away.

"Sharpay and Ryan – we go through this every morning, cell phones are NOT an appropriate accessory in my class!" Miss Darbus held the cell phone bucket out. The siblings rolled their eyes but complied, placing their phones inside. "Fifteen minutes after school."

"Now, if everyone is ready, I will begin this morning's announcements."

Miss Darbus began to reel off information about various meetings, changes to the cafeteria menu, opportunities to participate in a tennis tournament.

"And saving the most important until last. As I am sure you are all aware, the call backs for our winter musicale, Twinkle Towne, were held on Friday afternoon. The cast list has now been posted on the bulletin board. The first rehearsal is after school on Wednesday – write that down – Wednesday. 3:15. All cast members."

Miss Darbus stopped to look at Troy and Gabriella. "I'm not seeing you writing that down. 3:15 Wednesday. Tardiness will not be tolerated in my chapel of the arts!"

Troy turned around to make a face at Gabriella, as if to say 'Does she think we are complete morons?' to which Gabriella giggled.

"For those of you who are in my drama class this afternoon, I will be going over in more detail opportunities for everyone to get involved. I know some of you see drama class as an easier alternative to calculus or a language lab, but everyone in the drama program will be assisting the drama club with this production in one way or another. There are still several roles within the chorus available for those of you who may be inspired to tap into your theatrical genes. Additionally, assistants will be required to build sets, paint backdrops, sew costumes, and assist with lighting, sound and props during the production itself."

Miss Darbus was set to embark upon a spiel about the opportunities for young thespians to delve into their creative spirits, but was interrupted by the bell for first period.

"All right class, you are dismissed. I'll see you either in drama this afternoon, or in homeroom tomorrow. Miss Montez, may I see you for a minute?"

Gabriella was disappointed. Because she'd come in late she was looking forward to quickly catching up with her friends. Troy gave her a little wave goodbye as she approached the teachers desk.

"Yes Miss Darbus?"

"You've only been here a few weeks so I know you've probably only just settled into your new timetable and gotten all of your credits transferred and whatnot. Given your successful call back audition for Twinkle Towne, I wanted to ask whether you might consider including our drama class into your schedule?"

Gabriella paused. "I hadn't really thought about it."

"It isn't compulsory to study drama to be in the drama club or to be a part of any of our musicales. But as you are new to the art of theatre, you might find it useful to have the additional opportunity to build your skills," Miss Darbus suggested.

"I'll have to think about it. I know it makes sense but I have only just sorted out my schedule."

"If you decide to transfer, our classes are Monday, Wednesday and Friday final period so you could begin today if you sorted the paperwork immediately. I'll be in this room throughout lunch period if you require any further advice, and I will need to sign the approval of transfer also."

Gabriella sighed. "Okay. I'll think it over and let you know."

Taylor had waited outside for Gabriella. They had calculus together after homeroom.

"What was that about?" Taylor asked as they began to walk up the corridor.

Gabriella sighed and relayed the conversation to her friend.

"I know that it makes sense to take drama to help out with the musical. It will give me more time to rehearse and everything. And I so don't want to make a fool of myself on stage so I'll need all the help I can get."

"But?" Taylor prompted, sensing that Gabriella was worried about something.

"College applications aren't that far away, I've worked really hard to make sure I have subjects that will look impressive to the selectors."

"I take drama. It's a fun class and my older sister says that college scouts like people with well rounded backgrounds. What class do you have when drama is on?"

"Legal. Which works out well I guess because it's not compulsory and I only just started it here, I haven't been doing it at my other schools."

"I think you just made the decision for yourself. Besides… it'll be another class with Troy," Taylor teased.

She blushed and slapped her friend gently on the arm. "Shut up."

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Gabriella came rushing into the cafeteria after running around for the first half of lunch period trying to sort out her new schedule. She was still feeling a little hesitant about the situation. She rushed through the lunch queue and looked up to try and find Taylor. An outsider might perceive that nothing was different about the East High cafeteria that day. But they would be wrong because it was very different. Gabriella headed towards the table she had been sitting at with Taylor, Martha and other 'academically' inclined students. A voice from the other direction called out "Gabriella!" and she turned to see Chad calling her over.

Troy, Zeke, Chad and Jason were sitting together at a different table to normal. They didn't have cheerleaders hanging off of them. The rest of the team wasn't with them. Instead Taylor had joined them – which was the bigger surprise. Gabriella knew that there had been sparks between Chad and Taylor at the after party but she didn't really think anything had happened. She was surprised by the combination, by the lack of cheerleader groupies, but nevertheless went over to join them. She knew the cliques had come to tolerate one another and even work together to support her and Troy's aspirations to audition, but hadn't expected real friendships to be forged between the members of the different groups.

"Where have you been Gabriella?" Zeke asked.

"I had to change my schedule so I've spent the last twenty minutes going from the administration block to find a bunch of teachers to fill in forms."

"Here… I saved you a seat," Troy said, motioning next to him.

Gabriella smiled and sat next to him.

"Thanks."

"Did you get it all sorted?" Taylor asked.

"Pretty much."

"What did you change? And why?" Jason asked.

Gabriella proceeded to tell the story for what felt like the millionth time that day – but in reality she had only talked to Taylor about it, and then the guidance officer when she picked up the forms.

"That's off the hook! We're all in that class, you'll love it. Other than the craziness of Miss Darbus it's fun, pretty cruisy," Troy informed her.

Of course, there was another reason why Troy hoped Gabriella would be glad to have transferred into Drama.

Drama was a very popular subject at East High – for various reasons. Of course there were those who were actually theatrically inclined who took the class very seriously and used it as an opportunity to fine tune their skills to use in various school productions. For others, like Troy and his mates, it had always just been a class that was more appealing than some advanced form of math or science, or yet another social science course. It also fit into their schedules fairly nicely.

"Yes but when it comes time to college applications…" Gabriella began to say.

"Gabriella I thought we talked this through," Taylor said, sounding a little exasperated

Chad picked up the piece of paper where Gabriella had her timetable printed.

"Holy shit girl. You should take drama, you need something fun. Look at all this stuff. I can't even pronounce some of these subjects. Troy, look at this man," Chad was amazed.

Troy looked at the sheet, and he too was amazed. "Gabriella, are you like Hermione, has Matsui given you some magical contraption that lets you be in two places at once? How do you take all these classes?"

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "You've read Harry Potter?"

"He probably saw the movie," Zeke said with a laugh.

"Not only have I read Harry Potter but I own every single book in the series," Troy announced. He didn't like Gabriella thinking he was some moron who couldn't read a simple children's book.

"Dude. First the singing, now this Harry Potter thing… do I even know you?" Chad asked.

"You're just jealous because Troy has the ability to read something more advanced than an 'I Can Read' book," Taylor teased.

They continued to banter back and forth. Gabriella went silent amongst the chaos. She was watching her new group of friends, a small smile forming and gradually becoming a grin. In all of the times she had changed schools, she had met a lot of people. Her intelligence would become uncovered and immediately Gabriella would find herself immersed in the world of academia. But there was more to Gabriella than equations and formulas, and she had never found people who seemed to care enough to get to know those layers. Never before had she found a group where she felt like she truly belonged – until now.

Troy noticed Gabriella's silence and turned to her and asked softly, "Hey… you all right?" Under the table, he squeezed her leg.

She nodded and reassured him. "Perfect."

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	3. Welcome to the Chapel of the Arts

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you so much to the people who reviewed and/or put my story into their favourites and alerts and whatnot. I was so incredibly overwhelmed by the positive response. I had convinced myself that no one would even bother to read my work! I'd love to hear from the people who added me as an alert/favourite – as I said in my first chapter, this is kinda a training exercise for me, I'm new to the fandom so I really want to know what parts you guys are liking and where you think I can improve. Anyway so here's the next chapter :-) **

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**HERE WITH YOU**

**Chapter 3 – Welcome to the Chapel of the Arts**

"_I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being."_

_- Oscar Wilde_

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On Wednesday morning, Gabriella arrived at school a little early. She waved goodbye to her mom and headed up the front walkway towards the main building.

"Gabriella!" A voice called from not far away.

Gabriella looked over to see Taylor waving at her. She smiled at her friend and headed over to join her.

"Morning Gabriella," Taylor greeted.

"Morning Tay." She motioned towards the building. "We heading in?"

"Don't you want to wait for your lover boy to arrive?" Taylor asked teasingly.

"I assume you are referring to Troy," Gabriella said, giving Taylor a look, indicating she was not impressed with the term 'lover boy' being used. "And he's probably already inside, if he got a lift with his dad."

"You still have so much to learn about East High and how things operate. I know things are changing around here but Troy is still the king around these parts."

"Good thing I have you to explain things to me," Gabriella said. She was being mostly sarcastic, but also a little bit serious. Every school she had been to over the last five years had different ways of operating, different norms – a different subculture. It was hard working out all those little nuances. Plus, everyone at East High seemed to have such a history together. Although Taylor hadn't been friends with the boys, she had known them for many years. Gabriella was trying to make a place for herself within their group, so it was good to have someone to fill her in with the stories she wasn't there for and the ways and lifestyles of the students at East High.

"If you look just beyond the bus bay over there, you will see our newfound friends, Zeke, Jason and Chad."

"You mean, Zeke Jason and Taylor's lover boy," Gabriella said with a smile.

"Chad? Lover boy? Hardly."

"Did you or did you not kiss Chad Danforth at the after party?" Gabriella demanded.

"Well…" Taylor was feeling embarrassed.

"See. Lover boy."

"Anyway, back to what I was saying," Taylor said, changing the subject. "Chad and Troy have been friends since preschool. Jason and Zeke came into the mix in middle school. The four of them have been on the same basketball team every year, until sophomore year when Troy made starting varsity. Anyway, so they're all tight. But Troy is their leader, the captain. They follow his lead not just on the basketball court but with everything."

"I'm still confused as to how this all fits in…"

"Give me a minute, I'm getting there. With the boys you see the airhead cheerleaders. Together, they are all here waiting for Troy. Troy will arrive, he will step off the bus, they will flank around him and the girls will giggle and flirt and the boys will proceed to have their lunkhead discussions about basketball because, as we know it is the only topic on the planet. And then they will enter the building. They do not enter without Troy. This is how you know whether Troy is here yet – you look out there and see whether the sheep are waiting."

"Can you go back to the girls flirting part?" Gabriella asked, biting her lip.

"Surely you have noticed that the guy you are crushing on – and please do not deny you have a crush on him – has dozens of girls trying to win his heart."

"Yeah but I'm more interested in what he does in return."

This was something that had been plaguing Gabriella since the after party. Taylor had brought to her attention very efficiently during her first few days at East High that Troy Bolton was at the centre of the social scene, with girls drooling all over him. But between the chaos of the decathlon and the basketball game and the auditions, she hadn't really seen it for herself. The after party was when she became very aware of her competition, and there was certainly a lot of it.

"Nothing Gabriella. He says hi and makes small talk – because it is compulsory for the basketball guys and cheerleaders to get along, whether they actually like each other or not."

Another school bus pulled up.

"Here, watch for yourself," Taylor said motioning to the bus.

And the scene played out exactly as Taylor had described it. Troy stepped off the bus, he had people greeting him all over the place, the boys called out to him, he went over, the girls flirted, he said hello and turned back to Chad. Gabriella couldn't help but feel a little relieved. The crowd moved towards the school building when Chad noticed Taylor and Gabriella hanging out.

"Morning girls," Chad said, flashing Taylor a grin.

"Hey Gabriella," Troy said, also flashing a smile.

"You girls coming in?" Jason asked.

The girls joined the group heading into the school towards homeroom. Gradually the cheerleaders dropped off and it was just the six of them.

"Troy, did you want to play some two on two after school?" Zeke asked.

"Actually I can't," Troy said, and motioned to Gabriella. "The first rehearsal for the musical is today."

"Are you nervous?" Gabriella asked.

"Me? Nervous? Why would I be nervous? This whole musical production thing, totally normal for me." Troy of course was being sarcastic.

"They might do the leotard fittings today," Chad quipped.

Jason did an awful imitation, holding one hand in a fist as a pretend microphone, the other in the air, and sang in a high pitched voice, "We're soaring…"

Chad and Jason did a high five.

"I thought you guys were over this," Troy said, feeling a little put out.

"We are, we're just messing with you," Zeke assured him.

"Speaking of messing with you – you up for some more pink jelly on Saturday?" Jason asked.

"Huh?"

"My folks are out of town so they agreed that I could have a party. I figured it could make up for the bogus school provided after party."

Troy grinned. "Sounds great. When did all this happen and why did I not know earlier?"

"Just last night man. So yeah spread the word. Whoever you want to invite, I don't care," Jason said.

"Maybe Sharpay will come…" Zeke commented dreamily.

The rest of them ignored him.

"Party?" Taylor groaned. "You mean an excuse for you lot to undertake in underage drinking and get pissed."

"You in?" Chad asked hopefully.

"You expect me to attend this event?" Taylor asked haughtily.

"Come on Tay, it sounds like it'll be a good night," Gabriella said.

Taylor looked sharply at Gabriella, offended by her words. "Gabriella. My misguided friend. Have you ever been to one of these parties thrown by any member of any sporting team at East High?"

"Well I just moved here so…"

"Or any of the schools that you've been to?" Taylor interrupted.

"That's great Tay, please continue to remind everyone of Gabriella's history of not being associated with anything remotely cool," Gabriella said, feeling uncomfortable.

"I may not have personal experience at any of these events but this is a small school and I know all about what goes on. Where shall I start? Troy and the pink jelly incident perhaps?"

"How do you know about that?" Troy exclaimed, exasperated.

"Troy honey, everyone knows about that."

"Thanks to Chad," Jason said with a laugh.

"I don't know the story. You said you were going to tell me about that," Gabriella said, poking Troy in the ribs.

"Uh another time…" Troy deflected her comment, clearly uncomfortable.

"I think my point is being demonstrated before my very eyes," Taylor said smugly.

"The purpose is not to get pissed Taylor, it's to have fun and celebrate," Chad said. "Fun? You know what that is? It's a three letter word, F for football, U for umbrella, N for nice. Or maybe that's too simple of a notion for your brain to consider worthy of comprehending."

"I have fun!" Taylor exclaimed. "I just don't need to act like an idiot and have embarrassing stories told about me for eons in order to have said fun!"

"This party is to celebrate not just the basketball but the decathlon team as well. So you have to go," Zeke declared.

Taylor was the odd woman out in the conversation but luckily she was saved by the bell.

"Oh homeroom, what a drag, oh well I guess the discussion is over."

"It's far from over McKessie. And you will be at this party if I have to drag you kicking and screaming," Chad informed her.

----------

Troy was dreading the rehearsal all day long. Any other day he would be itching for final period to come, but the day would drag. Just when he wanted the day to be longer, it flew by. Even Miss Darbus's drama class went quickly – and that said a lot because if any teacher had the ability to make a class drag, it was Miss Darbus with her incessant ranting and raving about the sacred chapel of the arts. But the final bell came in a flash.

"You are all dismissed – don't forget to memorise Scene IV from the second act for Friday's class," Miss Darbus called. "And those of you involved in our winter musicale, I will see you in five minutes at the auditorium. Five minutes. Precisely. Hear that?"

Miss Darbus looked pointedly at Troy and Gabriella. Five minutes was a ridiculous expectation. Between the end of drama class and the beginning of rehearsal, there were five minutes allocated to students involved in the production to go to their lockers, go to the bathroom if necessary, and make their way to the auditorium on the far side of the school. Troy wasn't one to normally be afraid of authority, but he did want to make a good impression. He knew that some of the members of the drama club worshipped Sharpay and weren't happy about Gabriella and Troy being cast as Arnold and Minnie. So a good impression was a necessity.

Gabriella and Troy headed to the auditorium together, feeling a mutual sense of trepidation. Neither of them had been involved in a production before and really had no idea what to expect. Most of the rest of the cast had been in previous productions as well as being involved with the drama club between productions.

All of the reasons why Troy had been dreading the rehearsal were actively demonstrated when he first walked in and glanced around the room. Troy was used to feeling a sense of belonging. He would arrive at school and be flanked by people, his friends, his teammates, the cheerleaders. He knew he was popular. It provided a comfort zone, that he could come to school and people would want to be around him.

The other cast members were already busy at work painting backdrops, organising props. Sharpay and Ryan were already there – not only were they still co presidents of the drama club but they were cast as the next biggest roles in the show. Sharpay had taken it upon herself to start to teach some of the girls some dance choreography. The rehearsal hadn't officially began and already it was a bustling room of costumes and sequins and lights and instruments, all stuff that Troy knew nothing about.

On stage with Gabriella, it made sense being a part of this other world. It was just about the two of them, telling the story of the song. Now, it was different. Troy had never felt more out of place in his life.

Gabriella glanced over at Troy, she sensed his discomfort. Every time she had come to a new school, Gabriella had dealt with this feeling, she was okay with just blending into the background and working out where she fitted in amongst the chaos. Troy however was used to people coming to him.

"There's Kelsi," Gabriella pointed out. "Should we go join her?"

He smiled at her gratefully. "Sure. Great idea."

They went and chatted with Kelsi who was sitting at her piano while waiting for Miss Darbus. Her arrival followed shortly – theatrical as always.

"Welcome young thespians to the beginning of our winter musicale preparations. We gather here in the chapel of the arts where we are about to embark upon a journey together, a journey where our combined creative energies shall be harnessed into the evolution of a piece of theatrical genius. Do treat this hallowed hall with respect – meaning that tardiness and cell phones will not be tolerated – and you shall find great rewards down the path."

The rehearsal was draining. It wasn't that a lot of the script was covered, or because they were exhausted from dancing or anything like that. It was draining because suddenly, it was highlighted to Troy and Gabriella just what they had gotten themselves in for. Show date was set for the 10th, 11th and 12th of March. There was approximately a month and a half of preparation time. The agenda of rehearsals was distributed and discussed in detail. For the leading roles, there were rehearsals after school Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a couple of hours for three weeks. Additional rehearsals were to be added as show week drew closer and closer. There were songs to learn, dances to choreograph, lines to memorise.

Given that Gabriella had transferred into the drama class, Miss Darbus had explained that she would, on most days, allocate half of their drama lessons towards Twinkle Towne preparations. In this time, she would leave Troy and Gabriella to their own devices to work on rehearsing dialogue and songs. This would provide more time during group rehearsals to work on stage blocking, dance choreography and the songs.

The end of the rehearsal finally came, with the rest of the students excitedly rushing out together, chatting about how great the show was going to be. Gabriella was putting her script and the sheet music carefully into a school folder. It was divided into sections, with colour coordinated labels. Troy folded the sheets in half and shoved them down between some books, hoping that would keep them relatively safe.

"Is your mom picking you up?" Troy asked Gabriella.

Gabriella shook her head. "No, she works late most nights. So I have to walk. Well it's that or wait for the public bus with all the smelly people. No thank you."

Troy laughed. "Well, seeing as I'm walking too, and you just happen to be in my direction, may I offer you some company on the way home?"

"Why of course."

It occurred to Gabriella then that she didn't actually know where Troy lived. He had come over to her house to make up after the whole misunderstanding with the trick their friends had misguidedly pulled. But she had no idea where Troy lived.

"How far away is your house from mine?"

"Not far at all." He described it to her, it was less than a five minute walk.

"So you get the bus in the mornings mostly do you?"

"Depends. If I'm up early enough I catch a ride with dad. Otherwise, I get the bus."

"If I got the bus, would it be the same one as yours?"

"Yeah, but doesn't your mom drop you off?"

"She does. I meant more for the afternoons. But then again. I've been staying back nearly every day so I've just walked or been picked up since all the buses leave early."

"If you're ever at a decathlon thing or anything, and if we have training, I'm sure my dad would give you a lift."

"I actually doubt that, he doesn't seem to like me much. But thanks anyway."

They were avoiding talking about the rehearsal. Gabriella couldn't help but worry that Troy was regretting doing this. He had never even really agreed to audition in the first place – at the very first audition, it had been her who had said she wanted to audition, he only volunteered to join her after Miss Darbus had said singles auditions are over. Gabriella felt like if the whole thing fell flat on its face, then it would be her responsibility.

They fell silent, the idle chit chat ending. Gabriella broke the ice, broaching the inevitable question.

"Are you regretting this?" Gabriella asked nervously. "Coz if you are… that's cool. I… I won't mind if you back out. "

Troy was surprised by her question, and quickly said emphatically, "No! No not regretting. Just… just freaking a little. I don't know if I'm up to this. It's not that I don't WANT to do it. It's that I think they might have made the wrong decision. Maybe Ryan would be better in the role than me."

"I know how you feel. I knew it was going to be a lot of work but this is just… there's just so much."

"I guess we're going to be spending a lot of time together over the next couple of months," Troy said casually.

"It would seem so."

They smiled at each other shyly, silently acknowledging how pleased they were at the notion of time to be spent together.

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Kinda wanky I know... should have another chapter up tomorrow or the day after pending my work schedule. **


	4. Snowballing

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. **

----------

**HERE WITH YOU**

**Chapter 4 – Snowballing**

"_Those who do not study are only cattle dressed up in men's clothes."_

_- Chinese Proverb _

----------

Troy sat in his Algebra class just before lunch break on Friday. His mind was wandering in about a thousand other places – any where but on the squiggles and numbers that Miss Jackson was trying to teach. He tapped his pen on the desk for a bit until the girl in the seat next to him sent him a death stare. Troy flicked through the pages of his exercise book and turned to a random page in the middle and began to doodle. He started to write the lyrics from one of the Twinkle Towne songs in crazy lettering.

**sO LoNeLy BeFoRe I FiNaLLy FoUnD WhAt i'Ve BeEn LoOkInG fOr**

Thursday had flown by. So too had Friday morning. But now Troy was getting antsy. The weekend was so close and yet so far. There was a new movie out he wanted to see, he had tentative plans to check it out on Saturday afternoon with Chad. He'd also just downloaded Yellowcard's new album and wanted to chill and listen to it for a bit. Of course there was the big party on Saturday night – which Troy was very much so looking forward to. An opportunity to hang out with Gabriella as well as to generally let his hair down and celebrate. The past few weeks had been so intense with basketball training and the auditions, a decent party was definitely in order.

Right at the end of class, Miss Jackson handed back a quiz that they had taken the week before. Troy hadn't studied a lot – it had been the day of the big game and audition, so he had been preoccupied. But he was mortified to see a big red "F" and a note "Troy, please see me after class."

Troy waited until the other students had all filed out of the room, heading for the cafeteria, and begrudgingly approached Miss Jackson's desk.

"You wanted to see me?"

She nodded. "Pull up a chair Troy."

Miss Jackson was fairly young as far as math teachers go – she was in her thirties Troy suspected. She was actually a very reasonable teacher. Math teachers tend to come with a stigma of being boring and strict, but Miss Jackson did everything she could to make the class interesting, and was always approachable and willing to help anyone having problems.

"You're a smart kid Troy – what happened?" she asked.

Troy felt uncomfortable. "I don't know."

"That's not true."

He swallowed, thinking about various excuses. He decided on the truth. "Math has never been a strong point of mine. This topic just really stumped me. Before winter vacation I was getting a bit lost and I meant to sit down and work on it over the break but it didn't really happen… see I was on vacation and my dad and I were playing basketball a lot… and then last Friday was kind of crazy for me as you know so I didn't study a lot…" Troy trailed off.

Miss Jackson sighed. "Troy… I don't know if you're aware of this, but East High has a policy where students need to maintain a C average in all of their core subjects to be involved in extra curricular activities. Now, please don't repeat what I'm about to say, but in my opinion Principal Matsui has been fairly lax enforcing this policy. However the new Vice Principal is very strict on these types of rules. This test is only a small portion of your entire grade – but the material forms the cornerstone of the rest of not only this years course, but also the senior mathematics curriculum. And the ACT exams."

Troy winced. First his dad talking about college scouts at the championship game, then Gabriella talking about college applications. It seemed like all of a sudden, everyone had shifted life's focus to the future.

"Understanding this material is absolutely imperative. I know that you don't expect maths to form some great part of your future – but if you want to continue to be involved with the sports programs, and the drama program which seems to have sparked your interest – you need to dedicate some time to this. Do you understand how important this is? I know every teacher thinks his or her own subject is important but truly, do you understand?"

Miss Jackson was genuinely concerned about Troy's welfare. He was a good kid, a bright kid, and she didn't want to see his education go downhill.

Troy nodded. "Yeah I get what you're saying."

"We do have some after school tutorials available…"

Troy was horrified. The after school tutorials were designed for the students who were REALLY struggling, the ones who were barely passing. "Thanks but no thanks. I'll be right."

"Have you started on the project due next week?" Miss Jackson asked.

Troy blinked. 'Project?' he thought.

"Uh yeah sure. I appreciate your concern but it's all under control Miss Jackson."

He had put on the act of being cool and collected but on the inside Troy was freaking out – majorly. He had totally forgotten about this project. Between rehearsing, shooting hoops with his dad and talking to Gabriella on the phone, he'd gotten behind with his regular homework as well. Troy then realised he also had a big geography paper due in a couple of weeks, and he knew there was going to be a pop quiz for science some time over the next week. Saturday night and likely Sunday morning would be a write off as well, with Jason's party.

It was snowballing and Troy was beginning to feel like he wasn't going to be able to catch up. He'd always been pretty relaxed when it came to his studies. He never had major problems, got by well enough. But as the end of junior year was approaching, talk was turning to college applications and the ACT exams. His dad had been putting on the pressure to aim for college scholarship, so he wanted him to keep in shape with his game.

Troy had brought a sandwich from home that day, so he bypassed the cafeteria and headed straight to the library. He spent the entire lunch break flicking through the assignment and his math textbook trying to make some sense out of it all. If anything he felt more confused than before he had began. A waste of a lunch period.

Geography class was a blur, and then final period drama class rolled around. Any other day, Troy would be stoked to go to drama class. It was better than sitting around bored. That day however, Troy felt like sulking and being alone. However with all his mates in the class, he had to begin the period with a bombardment of queries regarding his whereabouts at lunch.

"Can't a guy go study without being subjected to an inquisition?" Troy snapped, before sitting at his desk and pretending to be immersed in a textbook.

Chad, Jason and Zeke exchanged looks. Chad motioned to Troy, as if to say "what the hell is up with him?"

Gabriella had witnessed the encounter from her place up the back talking to Martha and Taylor, and frowned. Taylor raised her eyebrows, as if to ask Gabriella if she knew what was up. Gabriella shrugged.

Troy was glad that Miss Darbus decided to focus the afternoon on their class curriculum instead of the musical. So they were going through theories and there was a lot of quiet writing time – the upcoming assessment piece was to write their own short play script. Rehearsal that afternoon was also relatively fortunate for Troy. He and Gabriella were left to work on dialogue by themselves. Miss Darbus wanted all dialogue for the first Act to be memorised by the end of the following week. They just ran through the script over and over with little conversation between.

Gabriella wasn't sure how to approach the situation, given that in all reality they didn't know each other that well yet. She wasn't sure whether he was the kind of guy to just be left alone and let him come to you if he wants to talk, or whether she should try to push him to talk. She decided the former was the safer option and just let him stew.

----------

After the rehearsal, Troy headed home on his own, leaving Gabriella behind. He needed that time to gather his thoughts. He really felt like venting to someone. He would have talked to his dad about it but knew that the minute he complained about having too much on, his dad would whinge about Twinkle Towne. Coach Bolton had made his peace with his son's new interest, but as soon as it interfered with anything else that support would be withdrawn and Troy knew it. So even though he'd been in a funk with her all afternoon and she would probably be narky with him, Troy sucked it up and picked up his cell phone to call the one person who he felt like he could share with.

Meanwhile, Gabriella was sitting on her bed, cell phone lying on the bedspread in front of her. She was contemplating whether to call Troy. She had simply ignored his lack of commitment to the dialogue they were rehearsing all afternoon. She was a little miffed that he hadn't said something. All he had to do was say 'Gabriella, I'm in a shitty mood, don't want to talk about it' and she would have been fine. But he said nothing, nada, zip. He had called her every night that week, each night at pretty much the same time. He hadn't yet called and she was beginning to worry a little. Was Troy really that upset, or was it just a bad mood? Was it something she had done?

Her train of thought was interrupted by her phone ringing, and to her relief she saw Troy's picture flash up.

"Hey," Gabriella greeted him tentatively, but warmly.

"Hi," Troy said, feeling a bit uncomfortable. He was a bit embarrassed about his behaviour all afternoon.

"I uh… I thought you might not call."

"Yeah uh… listen… sorry about this afternoon. Bad mood…"

"I noticed," Gabriella said wryly. "Want to talk about it? You don't have to…"

"Actually I do because uh… I need to ask you a favour."

"Okay, go on."

Troy explained to Gabriella his conversation with Miss Jackson, and what she had told him about extra curricular activities.

"I mean, I'm not stupid. Not super smart like you but until now I mostly get B's, sometimes an A will get thrown in and on a bad day a C. I don't know what went wrong, I just don't get this stuff. I went to the library at lunch and it was like I was reading Chinese characters, it made no sense. I have to go to Jason's party, like I can't not go. So I don't know how I'm supposed to get this done. And I've got a big geography project and there's the science pop quiz and rehearsals and I still have to practice with my dad every night and I just don't know if I can do this!"

Troy was speaking fast, he was clearly upset. He nearly felt his eyes well up with tears. Crying was not a common occurrence for Troy Bolton.

Gabriella could hear how upset he was, and suspected how close he was to crying, although it was hard to tell over the phone.

"Troy you need to breathe," Gabriella said soothingly. "I know you have a lot on – believe me I know it's hard. We're in the same boat here so we can help each other."

"Except you're a genius Gabriella. Blindfold me and spin me around a dozen times and ask me to shoot a hoop one handed and I might get it but…"

"Lets look at this one problem at a time. So the most imminent thing is the math project. I can help you with that. I will teach you this stuff. Science pop quiz. Taylor and I are going to study for it Monday lunch – wanna come?"

"Yes please."

"Okay. I think what we need to do is create a schedule," Gabriella suggested.

"I already have a class timetable…."

"No no, a life schedule. You need to write down day by day everything that you have to do over the next month or so. Put in rehearsals, school projects, allow time for your dad, everything. The scariest thing about having a million things to do is that you think you won't have time to do them all. If you write it all down you'll find that there's heaps of time there, it's just about using that time well."

Troy and Gabriella spent the next half hour creating Troy a perfect schedule. By this point he had calmed down significantly.

"See? And heaps of spare time too," Gabriella said proudly. "Now. Lets talk about the algebra assignment. Refresh my memory, what stuff are you doing?"

Gabriella was of course in a more advanced class. Troy read out loud the main points of the project.

"Okay ummm… I might need to teach you this in person. It's a bit hard over the phone."

"Uh… well if you're not busy… do you think you'd like to come over tomorrow morning and help me out?" Troy asked hopefully, and then adding wryly, "That is if you don't mind spending part of your weekend doing math,"

Gabriella laughed. "You know I like math. And I want to help you so that sounds fine. Maybe uh… maybe we could work on some of the first Act while I'm there," she suggested hopefully.

"Sounds like a plan."

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know that this was a bit short and kind of a filler chapter, so that's why I put it up so quickly. Also, I know there's pressure to get Troyella together but I'm working on building their friendship as well as setting groundwork for issues that I hope to cover in more detail later on throughout the story. **

**I don't like it when authors say that they won't update unless people review. I have the next few chapter sorted so I'm going to update regardless of the response. But I really would still love to hear from people who are following this. It helps me to know what parts you are liking, and any particular aspects that could be improved. **


	5. The Study Date

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. I do not own the movie 'White Men Can't Jump' which I have referenced, nor do I own 'My Girl 2' from which I have acquired my opening quote.**

----------

**HERE WITH YOU**

**Chapter 5 – The Study Date**

"_If a boy wants to do homework with you, it really means he didn't have the nerve to ask you out on a date. So you'll get your homework together and pretend to be studying, and the next thing you know you're ordering pizza and talking about your favourite movie stars."_

_- Shelley in 'My Girl 2'_

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Lucille Bolton lived in a very masculine household. Troy, being her and Jack's only child, had developed a close relationship with his father. The two of them spent hours upon hours playing basketball, talking about basketball, watching basketball and in general worshipping basketball. Just a few weeks earlier she had given Troy money to rent a DVD to watch as a family. He came home with 'White Men Can't Jump.'

Lucille was absolutely floored to wake up on Saturday morning to find her teenage son, not only awake, but holding not a basketball but a feather duster. He had actually cleaned his room and put his laundry out, and now was fluffing couch cushions.

Jack Bolton was seated at the dining room table, coffee in front of him and newspaper in hand as he scoured the sports section.

"Morning dear," Lucille said. She gestured toward Troy, asking, "Do you know…"

"I wouldn't ask him about it, he will most likely snap at you. But I gather that a certain female friend is coming over to work on a school project," Jack informed his wife wryly.

She nodded, immediately understanding. "So I will be able to meet the infamous Gabriella."

"I'm not deaf you know," Troy informed them, calling from the living area. "Mom, are you going to embarrass me?"

"You do know that we mothers never intend to embarrass."

"No, it just comes naturally," Troy responded sardonically.

Meanwhile, Gabriella was enjoying her morning stroll through the neighbourhood. Since she and her mother had arrived in Albuquerque, she hadn't really had a lot of time to look around the area. Following Troy's directions, she found her way to his house. He was right, it wasn't far away at all, a thought which pleased Gabriella. She stopped outside, checking the number on the mailbox. Yup, this was it. It was a nice big house – all of the houses in the neighbourhood were.

Gabriella's heart was pounding as she slowly walked up the driveway. She wasn't sure why she was nervous. All they were doing was studying and rehearsing, nothing different to what they had been doing for the last couple of weeks. There was something different about meeting someone at lunch to read over a script, and going over to their house on the weekend though. She took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell.

Inside, Troy jumped hearing the sound of the doorbell ringing.

"I'll get it," he said very insistently, shooting a pointed look in his mothers direction.

Troy was trying to avoid having Gabriella be exposed to his parents. He threw open the front door and grinned upon seeing her. Even though Troy knew it was Gabriella, he had been expecting her arrival – it still pleased him to see her. There was something about her presence which just made him feel better inside.

"Hey," he exclaimed.

"Morning. Hope you're ready to put your thinking cap on," Gabriella said cheerily.

He stepped aside allowing her to come in. She slipped her shoes off.

"Indeed I am, and we should get to it so…"

"Troy… are you going to introduce me to your friend?" Lucille popped her head in.

Troy gritted his teeth. His mom just had to poke her nose in, she couldn't just stay out of the way. "Gabriella, this is my mom. Mom, Gabriella."

"Gabriella, it's lovely to meet you. I've heard lots of wonderful things. You've certainly gotten Troy working hard on this musical."

"Thanks Mrs Bolton, but I don't think you can credit that to me. Troy works hard on his own accord," Gabriella responded politely.

"Troy, you should show Gabriella around. Make her feel at home."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Do you think you raised me to have no manners at all?"

"Sometimes I think so," Mrs Bolton said cheekily.

He proceeded to give Gabriella a quick tour, showing her the formal lounge and dining that were so infrequently used they were covered in dust, and then the lounge and kitchen area where they spent most of their time. Jack was sitting at the dining table, still enjoying his morning paper.

"Morning Gabriella," he said.

"Good morning Coach Bolton." Gabriella was still apprehensive around Troy's dad, after their first introduction being referred to as the 'detention buddy.'

Troy kept moving, opening the door out to the backyard where the basketball half court was.

"Ah, where the famous Wildcat practices his moves," Gabriella commented. "Maybe you'll be able to teach me."

"You're not bad with the hoops Montez."

"Yeah, when I get to stand still, not far away from the thing, then aim and shoot. Throw me in a one on one and I think you'll find any skills fly out the window."

Troy laughed. "We'll change that soon enough."

"But first – to the math," Gabriella said brightly.

"Only you could seem cheery about math on a Saturday morning."

Nevertheless, Troy led Gabriella back inside and up the stairs. He pointed out the bathroom, his parents' room, the guest room and then led her to his room.

"And where the famous Wildcat rests and recuperates – and as of now, studies on Saturday mornings," he announced.

Gabriella was overwhelmed. "Low and behold the basketball shrine."

"You think it's tacky."

In the midst of Troy's cleaning spree that morning, he had suddenly had this freak out about Gabriella seeing his room. He'd never had a girl who wasn't a relative in his room before. Looking around at the basketball posters and merchandise and the trophies and team photos, he suddenly thought that maybe it was a bit conceited and show offy.

"No I don't," Gabriella responded very genuinely. "I think it's fantastic. You walk in and just get who you are, you know what's important to you by being in here. My room is so boring. I've never been in one room long enough to bother to decorate properly. Besides what am I going to put up – a poster of the periodic table?"

"I thought your room was very sweet and ladylike. What I saw of it from the balcony, anyway."

"Troy Bolton, a true gentlemen," Gabriella teased.

Troy pulled out his math assignment. "So here it is. Teach me, freaky math girl," he said with a grin.

Gabriella shook her head, and placed the assignment sheet on the other side of the desk. She was feeling a lot calmer now, given that math was her turf.

"We don't need that yet. We need blank paper, pencils and erasers, and your textbook."

Gabriella really was a good teacher. Troy had worried that she would make him feel stupid; and be talking way above him and he would have to keep getting her to explain things. But Gabriella's technique was to have him to really understand the concepts, going back to basic terminology and theory and building upon it. She would explain a theory, then leave him to complete a problem on his own. In the meantime she would poke about his room – her first time in a boys bedroom that wasn't a relative – until he was ready for her to show him what he had inevitably done wrong. Once they'd covered the material, she explained how the assignment fitted in with the theories.

"So now, I want you to do question 1 from your assignment. You do it exactly the same way that you were doing these ones over here."

She checked it over once he had completed it. "Beautiful! Perfect."

"Really?" Troy asked dubiously.

"Yup."

"This is the stuff that I failed just a week ago."

He was amazed. Amazed that she had actually taught him – and strangely felt proud of himself, and fulfilled that he had dedicated two hours of his Saturday to sitting and learning maths concepts.

"Like you said, it was just that you got behind in understanding concepts. That's the problem with the education system. They just assume that everyone is doing okay, but once you get behind in something like this, it's hard to pick it up," Gabriella commented. She sat down on his bed, yawning.

"I think it's break time," Troy announced. "Anyway… I think I should do the assignment on my own later on. If I do the whole thing with your guidance, it will be a bit suss when I get perfect marks."

"True true. Plagiarism does not go down well on college applications."

"Did you want to grab a drink?"

"Sure," Gabriella said agreeably.

Troy bounded down the stairs, leading Gabriella by the hand in the direction of the fridge and pantry.

"So, what tickles your fancy? We have…" he paused and observed. "Water, milk, orange juice, tropical juice, apple juice, vegetable juice, lemonade, coke and energy drink."

"Umm tropical juice is fine thank you."

"You want some cookies? An apple? Umm lets see what else… there's a whole collection of muesli bar varieties and types."

"I'm not really hungry, it's fine. The juice is awesome."

Troy shrugged and grabbed a bowl out of the fridge with grapes in it.

"Let's go outside. I need fresh air."

They went and sat on the grass out in the backyard in a shady corner under the tree.

"Gabriella thank you so so so much for this," Troy said very sincerely.

"You're very welcome."

"And also… for calming me down last night. I uh… I was kind of flipping out there," he admitted.

"It's okay. You know I'm here to help you whenever you need it," Gabriella told him.

"Well I might wind up needing a lot of help at the rate I'm going."

"Let's make a deal. When you want help – you let me know. No going off into weird bad moods. Just tell me. I know that I get it pretty easy so the least I can do is help other people. And besides, I learn best by explaining stuff to other people so I like teaching," Gabriella assured him.

"Well, you're just a really good teacher. This now makes so much more sense…" Troy paused before saying what he said next. "Maybe if Miss Jackson was as beautiful as you are I would find myself paying a bit more attention and stuff might sink in."

Gabriella blushed, feeling embarrassed. And there it was. Another moment. Eyes met and gazed.

"You want a grape?" Troy asked, breaking the moment.

"Sure, why not."

"Okay then, you have to catch it," he said teasingly, holding one up to throw it into her mouth.

Gabriella sat up straighter, preparing to catch it but missed. Troy threw another one and she missed again.

"At this rate I'll never get my grape," she grumbled, but good naturedly.

He laughed and handed her the bowl. Gabriella grabbed a few, popping one in her mouth and then holding one up to toss it to him. Troy caught it with ease, and chewed with a grin on his face.

"See, you can make hoops," he said brightly. Gabriella giggled.

"So Taylor has agreed to come tonight?" Troy asked casually.

She nodded. "Yeah. I think deep down she's actually really excited but she just feels like she has to put on a front."

"And… you're coming?"

"Well yeah of course… uh actually… I wanted to ask you something about the party."

"Shoot."

Gabriella would be lying if she said that Taylor's constant words of warning about the nature of East High Wildcat parties hadn't freaked her out a little. She'd been fine with it until Taylor had called the previous night after Gabriella finished talking to Troy. Taylor's latest set of reasons why they shouldn't go featured 'What if you have a few drinks and then do something embarrassing and Troy sees?' Since then, Gabriella had questioned whether her attendance was a good idea.

"So uh… this is a party party?" Gabriella began.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "A party party? How does that differ from a party? How do you define, party party?"

"Like… like how Taylor made them sound?"

"I guess…"

"With loud music, and dancing, and alcohol?"

"Gabriella, what other kind of party is there?"

She shrugged. "I guess I'm nervous."

"Why? It's just a bunch of people hanging out. You just said yourself that even Taylor is looking forward to it."

"I've never been to a party. A real party. Ever. With the music and the… the drinking."

"You've never drank alcohol, have you?"

Gabriella paused. "I had a couple of glasses champagne at my cousin's college graduation party last year."

"You don't have to drink you know. But, it can be fun when you do."

"Running around acting like an idiot, doing crazy things you don't remember the next day and vomiting is fun?" Gabriella queried wryly.

"At the time of consumption, yeah. Besides, you don't have to drink to the point of not remembering stuff and vomiting."

"Does it taste nice?"

"Some of it. The premixed girlie vodka drinks taste like cordial."

"Why do you like to drink alcohol?"

Troy thought for a moment. "Remember New Years Eve, how at that moment when you realised you were being pushed on stage, you said that you were absolutely petrified?"

"Yeah."

"And then you told me after that you love to sing but even your church choir solo made you faint?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"Alcohol takes away those inhibitions. When you've had a few drinks, you start to feel relaxed. You feel like you can be yourself, do the things you always want to do, say the things you always want to say. You don't care about what people think of you. You just do it because you want to do it. That's why I like going to these parties. Because at school, I have to constantly watch what I do or say because everyone is watching me. Even now that the season is over, my teammates look to me. Plus, I have to censor myself because my dad is around and will hear things. But when I go to a party and have a few drinks, I don't care about what people think. I'm just… Troy. Having a good time."

They went silent for a moment as Gabriella contemplated what he had said.

"I get that. I do. I guess… I guess it's kind of sad that people need to alter their mind and body in order to be feel like they can be themselves."

Troy shrugged. "All a part of the real world I guess."

"The real world sucks sometimes," Gabriella commented. "So… how about we escape our real world here in Albuquerque and go to Twinkle Towne and play the lives of Minnie and Arnold for a bit? Then I should let you keep doing your assignment for a bit before you go to Jason's."

"Let's do it."

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: PLEASE REVIEW. Pretty please with cherries on top. There's quite a few people who have this on alert but I don't actually know what you're thinking about it. Constructive criticism, ideas, suggestions, general feedback, comments about how I can improve my grammar ANYTHING is welcome and needed. As I have said before, I'm trying to improve my writing which I can only do if I know what people think.**

**So anyway… coming up next time… we join Troy, Gabriella and their friends as they boogie on down at a par-tay yeah! (Can you tell I'm not the slightest bit cool?)**


	6. The Party Part I

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. Nor do I own 'Dawson's Creek' from where I sourced my opening quote.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE – PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE READING THE CHAPTER: **

**This is the first of two parts telling the story of Jason's party. I just quickly wanted to mention that this is where the M rating for coarse language kicks in – believe me when I say that 16/17 year old drunk teenage boys swear a LOT. **

**There are some ---'s which divide sections – I've used this to symbolise where we're in the same timeframe, but moving to a different conversation with a different set of people. I think it's all fairly clear but I just wanted to highlight that.**

**I don't want to get on my soap box but as an older author around here I feel the need to deliver this message. The scenarios I am depicting in these chapters are realistic. Underage drinking happens at parties. I am not going to go down the road of having something tragic happen as a result of drinking alcohol to deliver some holy message about the evils of alcohol and peer pressure. I could have done that – I could have included a tragic plot line about drink spiking, or alcohol poisoning, or just generally making bad decisions which you later regret. All of which sometimes happen. But I don't want to go there, because most of the time when you drink, people have a good night and maybe you feel like crap the next day but that's the end of it. I AM NOT ENCOURAGING THE PRACTICE OF UNDERAGE DRINKING IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM. I am simply acknowledging that in my non-Disney version of the lives of these characters – they would have parties and drink alcohol and resultingly partake in crazy activities. If there is anyone who takes offense to anything that I write about, I would ask you to please send me a PM so we can discuss the issue.**

----------

**HERE WITH YOU**

**Chapter 6 – The Party (Part I)**

_Dawson: I've learned one thing from my initiation into the evils of alcohol. Be careful what you eat because you're going to see it again._

_Andie: And again and again and again. Oh, God, I swear I am never drinking again. Oh, God, I am so mortified at my behaviour tonight and to think your parents saw me this way!_

_Dawson: I swear if I survive this night, and if any of my family or friends every speak to me again, I swear I'll never let another drop of alcohol touch my lips._

_Andie: And if you ever see me pick up a drink, please remind me of how I'm feeling right now._

_Dawson: Deal._

_- Excerpt from 'Dawson's Creek' Episode 2X16 _

----------

Troy was itching for a good party. One of the seniors on the basketball team had hosted a big post New Years Party just a few days before going back to school after the Christmas holidays. That party had been the location of the pink jelly incident which Troy still failed to recall the details, but kept being told stories about. Still, the weeks since then had been intense and he knew that the weeks to come with Twinkle Towne preparations were also going to be crazy. A good night of partying was very much so in order.

Despite his restlessness, he very obediently followed Gabriella's instructions. She had told him while he walked her home that he should do at least two of the nine remaining questions in his assignment before heading to Jason's. Troy knew that she was right – Gabriella was always right, but without being stuck up or know it all about it. He knew that he should get stuck into the assignment while the detail was fresh in his mind. Plus there was the whole, Sunday being a write off with a serious hang over potential. So Troy had completed not just two of the questions but four, meaning that he had just half the assignment to complete. Not bad, given how clueless he had been the day before. Perhaps it was the light at the end of the tunnel that drove him forward – the light being in the form of strobe lights at the house of Jason Cross.

When Troy had informed his parents that he was going to Jason's for a party that night, and would be crashing there, they knew exactly what the inference was. The inference was:

'We're going to get trashed, and so you don't have to see your teenage son in a drunken stupor I'll just stay over there okay?'

Jack Bolton, in his years as a physical education high school teacher, had inadvertently overheard lots of bits and pieces that went on at high school parties. The latest rumour mill involved his own son and something to do with a jelly substance.

As a staff member at East High School, he was obliged to report any suspicion of underage illegal activity. Hence, Jack would ask very few questions about the nature of the parties. It wasn't a matter of encouraging underage drinking. It was more so the fact that Mr and Mrs Bolton acknowledged that it was going to happen and they would prefer that they knew where Troy was than have him lie about where he was going to be. He was a good kid, trustworthy, and so they remained fairly open minded about his social life.

It was an unspoken norm amongst the boys that whenever any of them hosted a party, the others would rock up a bit earlier and help set up. They usually had a few drinks in the meantime. There were a few times when this time period of mucking around with each other would rival the actual party as being the highlight of the evening.

Troy felt a little uncomfortable as he headed over to Jason's around 4:30. There was a good chance that the others would be pissed at him because of how he'd treated them the day before. They'd clearly been narky when he had disappeared at lunch, and then snapped at them in drama. Chad had tried to approach his mate after school to ask him what was up. But Troy had walked away, heading to rehearsal, without saying a word. Chad had felt genuinely hurt.

The boys were in the lounge room setting up the sound system when Troy let himself into the house – another norm between the group.

"Hey," Troy greeted them casually.

"Almost thought you might not come," Zeke commented.

Troy shrugged. "Of course I'm here. Should be a good night. About yesterday – I'm sorry. I was in a bit of a shitty mood. Shouldn't have taken it out on you guys."

"It's all good," Chad replied.

"Cool shirt by the way man," Troy complimented Chad.

Chad was wearing a black t-shirt with a road sign reading 'U Turn Me On.'

"Think Taylor will like?" Chad asked.

The world of the teenage boy. Problem solved and moved on from – without any long winded emotional apologies, without any tears and without any drama.

----------

Gabriella sat in Taylor's bedroom at 6pm, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She'd never been one to particularly care about her appearance. But over the last few weeks, consideration of her image had become a prerequisite to leaving the house. She had acquired Taylor's assistance in preparing for the party. Gabriella and Taylor had swapped roles – it was now Taylor who was assuring Gabriella that the party would be fun; and Gabriella looking for reasons to not go. Despite Troy's words of assurance, Gabriella was convinced that she wouldn't fit in; that she'd be wearing the wrong clothes; or that she was going to be standing awkwardly in the corner wishing she'd brought along a book to curl up with.

"I look stupid," Gabriella declared.

Taylor shook her head. "You look gorgeous."

"Which is stupid. I'm Gabriella, freaky math girl. Which isn't synonymous with 'gorgeous'."

After numerous outfit changes, Gabriella had finally settled on a nicer pair of dark blue denim jeans with a sparkly blue halter top. She'd bought the top on a whim just the weekend before after it caught her attention because the shade of blue had reminded her of Troy's eyes…

"According to who? Aren't you the one who has made it your mission since arriving at East High to prove that you are who you are, that you can be anyone you want to be?"

"That wasn't my mission," Gabriella protested. "I just wanted to sing. Which has since become magnified into some holy message that I have sent to the people."

"Well whether intentional or not, it is the message you've sent and it's time for you to pay attention to that message," Taylor advised. "You're the one who said, we're going to a real party, we should get dressed up."

"Next time I say something like that, don't pay attention to me."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to look hot to impress a guy," a voice said from the door.

Gabriella and Taylor looked up to see Taylor's older sister Tanesha at the door.

"I'm not trying to impress a guy," Gabriella insisted.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Yes you are."

"Look who's talking!"

Taylor glanced in the direction of her sister. "Shut up, Gabriella."

Tanesha grinned. "Taylor, Taylor, Taylor, are you finally taking my advice and realising that the opposite sex are worthy companions?"

Gabriella giggled. "Just the one particular member of the opposite sex…"

"Gabriella!" Taylor admonished.

"Tay, it's cool. Anyway I just wanted to bring you girls a present."

Tanesha put a plastic bag on the bed. The girls peered inside and saw two four packs of premixed vodka drinks.

"Just don't let mom see," Tanesha warned. "Or I will be killed."

"Thanks Eesh," Taylor said gratefully.

"You didn't have to do that," Gabriella said.

Gabriella felt a little awkward. She hadn't been planning to drink – and she knew from Troy that the boys pitched in to supply some beer and she had very carefully manufactured her 'no thanks, I cannot stand the taste of beer' response to deflect offers to drink. It wasn't that she had anything against drinking by moral or religious principle. She was just a little nervous about it, having not had a lot of exposure to drinking and parties and the like throughout her life.

Tanesha shrugged. "Felt like doing something nice. It's not every day my little sister decides to go along to an East High Wildcat party! Anyway – girls are too young to be subjected to the foul taste of beer."

----------

Driving in Mrs McKessie's car to be dropped off at Jason's, they could first hear the music halfway down the street. Taylor's mom was becoming dubious about her teenage daughter attending the party. So, upon dropping them off, she set down the ground rule that she would pick the girls up no later than midnight.

"Midnight!" Taylor exclaimed. "How about 1?"

Mrs McKessie decided to meet her daughter half way. "12:30, take it or leave it."

"Deal. Thanks mom."

"Thanks Mrs McKessie," Gabriella called as she hopped out of the backseat.

Gabriella grabbed Taylor's hand as they walked up the driveway to Jason's house.

"I think I might faint," Gabriella whispered. "Why are we here?"

"Gabriella, you need to chill," Taylor responded impatiently. "It's just a party. If it is completely ridiculous then I'll call my mom and she'll come pick us up early. She will be relieved, believe you me."

They reached the front door and Taylor rang the doorbell.

"Would they even hear the doorbell ring?" Gabriella questioned.

The door flew open a moment later, Zeke appearing. He was wearing a plastic red beer hat.

"Ladies, welcome," he greeted them. "Do come in."

Zeke linked arms with both of the girls – he was clearly in a rather friendly mood. No doubt aided by the beer hat. Gabriella and Taylor stepped into the house and surveyed the room. It was the epitome of stereotypical teenage party. In order to hear one another speak, they had to either talk right in the ear of the person, or shout loudly. The lounge room had been transformed into the dance floor, although there weren't many people in the area. Taylor waved at Martha who was in her element, dancing with one of the guys from the basketball team.

"The parties generally start outside with everyone chilling out, and gradually make their way inside to the dance floor," Zeke informed them. "Most of the action is in the backyard. Do you want to put anything in the fridge?"

"Yeah thanks."

He led them into the kitchen, where they ran into Jason. He was holding a can of beer.

"Tay, Gabriella, you both look lovely this evening," Jason declared, giving them each a tight hug. The girls were a little surprised at Jason's warm welcome – he had always been easy going and friendly towards them, but they weren't exactly at the friends hugging all the time level.

"Why thank you," Taylor said. "Having a good night so far?"

"Of course, and the night is still young. Did Zeke show you around?"

"Just what's between the front door and here," Gabriella answered.

"There's not much. The dining room is through there," he motioned to a closed door. "And the bathroom is just down the corridor to the left. Upstairs, I'd rather be avoided, but for you ladies, if you need to use the bathroom and it's taken just go on up and use the one upstairs, it's cool. And yeah. So everyone is outside. You coming out?"

"We'll just grab a drink and be out," Taylor said.

"Sweet, see you out there."

Zeke and Jason headed out the patio doors.

"See it's okay so far. They're not completely off their faces," Taylor said.

"Yet," Gabriella replied.

Tanesha's chosen drinks were raspberry and pineapple flavoured. Both girls took a raspberry, removed the lid from the glass bottle, and glanced at each other hesitantly. Gabriella had formulated a new plan in the car – she would have a drink, but just drink it very very very slowly. But then at least, she would have a drink in her hand and fit in amongst the crowd.

"Have you ever had one of these?" Gabriella asked.

"No. I had wine at New Years," Taylor answered. "You?"

"Champagne at my cousin's college graduation party."

They each took a tentative sip.

"Wow that is really nice," Gabriella exclaimed, genuinely surprised.

"That's why they are dangerous you know. You don't realise you're drinking alcohol so you just keep drinking."

Gabriella shrugged. "Come on, let's head outside."

Just as the girls were both beginning to feel as though maybe they would be able to fit in, the first thing they saw when stepping out into the backyard area was a bunch of kids surrounding Chad and Troy in a circle. The boys each had a giant mug filled to the brim with beer, the foam splashing over the top and dripping down the edge of the class.

The crowd began to chant. "Skol, skol, skol, skol, skol!"

To which Chad and Troy complied, downing the beers. Everyone erupted into cheers as they each were able to finish the mug.

"And the lunkhead basketball men soak in the cheers of the crowd," Taylor said.

---

"Fuck I hate beer," Troy said in the midst of a post skolling coughing fit.

"Why do you drink it then dude?"

"Because it's piss cheap. It's what we all pitch in to supply. Plus, it's what Simon's brother can get a discount on."

"True that…" Chad trailed off, spotting the girls standing tentatively across the backyard.

He grabbed Troy's arm, dragged him over in their direction. Troy was confused at first, but looked up and understood where he was being taken.

"Girls! You made it! Welcome," Chad called as they approached.

"And what a first sight – very impressive boys, a lot of beer was just consumed," Taylor commented.

"You look gorgeous," Troy said, staring at Gabriella.

She blushed. It was probably the most forward comment that Troy had ever made about her appearance.

"Thanks," she said.

"Don't you think I look gorgeous too Troy?" Taylor asked teasingly.

"You look smoking hot Taylor," Troy declared.

Taylor raised her eyebrows, amused at Troy's forwardness.

"I see you brought drinks. Participating in our evening of underage drinking," Chad observed. "A bit hypocritical, no?"

"I've always said that I should try everything at least once before judging it," Taylor said defensively.

"Whatever."

"Troy! Chad!" a voice called out from the house.

"Our presence is requested," Chad said, rolling his eyes. "The burden of popularity."

"I'll come back and talk to you in a bit. Just seriously, mingle, relax, chill out. No one bites unless provoked," Troy advised.

Gabriella and Taylor turned back to each other.

"Troy could not keep his eyes off you," Taylor said softly.

"Yeah but you're the one he described as being 'smoking hot' Tay."

"Please, that's only because I teased him. Anyway, enough of that. Let's go mingle."

----------

Mingle they did. Taylor and Gabriella stuck together, but they moved around and talked to lots of different people. It was interesting how different kids can be outside of school. Throw in a bit of alcohol to lower inhibitions and remove the pressures of schoolwork and extra curricular activities, and suddenly there was a common bond regardless of the status quo. The common bond being fairly simple – fun. The focus was on having a good time, and a good time was damn well going to be had. Gabriella and Taylor found themselves talking to most of the guys from the basketball team at one point, a lot of the kids from the drama club who Troy had invited, as well as a whole heap of students who didn't particularly belong to any social subculture but formed their own group. They even had a conversation with a couple of the cheerleaders about something other than the importance of firm nail beds.

"Gabriella!" a female voice called out excitedly.

Gabriella turned around and was surprised to see Kelsi running over towards where she and Taylor were chatting with some girls who were in their science class. Little Kelsi, quiet and shy, who had been so tentative to even attend the official school after party.

"Hi everyone!" Kelsi said. "Do you girls know me? I'm Kelsi. Hi. Nice to meet you." She swayed backwards and forwards.

"Are you okay Kelsi?" Gabriella asked, feeling rather concerned.

"I am fantastic! I arrived a little early and the boys were really nice to me. Jason brought me over a beer and it tasted like crap at first but I barely taste it now! And then there were these tiny little glasses with something clear…"

"You were doing shots?" Taylor asked incredulously.

It was amazing enough that Kelsi had come to the party but the fact that she was participating in full force and well on her way to being plastered was astonishing.

"They are great! Do you want one? Chad and Troy have the bottle I think…"

"I think we're good," Gabriella quickly said.

"Anyway I'm going to keep moving on – talk to you later guys!"

Kelsi skipped away, almost falling over.

"Do you want to go in and get another drink?" Taylor asked Gabriella.

"Okay," Gabriella said agreeably.

Both girls had made their first drink last for almost a half hour. Gabriella felt completely normal, so she was feeling okay about trying another one. Despite the concern for Kelsi, Gabriella was surprisingly having a good time. She very rarely just socialised for the sake of socialising. Still she was glad she had Taylor there, because she provided a comfort zone, someone who was on the same wavelength to stick with. They retrieved their second drink each – this time a pineapple mixer – and headed back outside since the music inside was still ridiculously loud, too loud to comfortably have a conversation.

---

"Boys, should we bring out the special surprise," Zeke suggested to Chad and Jason.

"Definitely. You reckon Troy will be shitty?" Jason asked.

"Who gives a fuck," Chad said with a laugh.

Zeke and Jason headed into the fridge in the garage to retrieve what they had very secretly concocted and hidden without Troy knowing. Chad headed out into the backyard and made an announcement.

"All right everyone, given the magnificence of the post New Years celebration party, we decided to make it a tradition – presents for everyone, on behalf of the basketball team," Chad called out. "Come and get 'em!"

Jason and Zeke came out from the house with two very large trays which were covered with little plastic shot glasses filled with coloured jelly of a variety of types.

"These ones over here are reserved for Troy," Jason added with an evil grin, indicating towards a section with pink coloured jelly.

Troy had been standing around with a random assortment of people – a couple of basketballers, some girls from his English class, a cheerleader, a guy from the drama club.

"Fuck off man, no way are you getting that shit anywhere near me," Troy exclaimed, laughing.

"They swear a lot when they're drinking, don't they," Taylor remarked to Gabriella quietly, where they were watching the scene.

Zeke came over to Taylor and Gabriella with his tray.

"Ladies, would you like one?"

Troy spotted Zeke offering the girls a shot and abandoned his conversation and ran over.

"Don't do it!" Troy shouted. "It's evil!"

"Just because you're a weakling and can't handle your liquor dude," Zeke said with a grin.

"No really. I mean… you can have one but just be careful," Troy said very seriously. "I don't want you girls to get sick and miss the rest of the party. The night is still young!"

"How chivalrous Troy, watching out for the weak innocent smart girls," Taylor remarked. She grabbed one from the tray. "Come on Gabriella, let's try one."

"Oh I don't know…"

"I recommend a pink jelly one," Zeke said with a grin, holding one up.

Gabriella sighed. The truth was that she couldn't be bothered to argue with them.

"What the hell." She took it from Zeke and held it up to Taylor. "Cheers."

They clinked the little cups together and quickly downed the contents.

"Tastes just like regular jelly," Gabriella observed.

"That's the sheer beauty," Zeke pointed out.

"Now go have a glass of water," Troy recommended.

"Piss weak Bolton," Zeke said. "I think it's time you had your jelly shot."

"I already said no, Baylor, so piss off!"

Troy ran in the opposite direction.

"Danforth!" Zeke bellowed.

"On it!" Chad yelled back from the other side of the yard.

Chad, along with Lucas and Scott from the basketball team began to run after Troy. There was a crazy chase for a good few minutes, the boys whooping and hollering the whole way, Troy shouting "fuck off you wankers!"

Finally they cornered him and wrestled him to the ground.

"Jason!" Chad hollered.

Jason came running with his tray which had just a handful of shots remaining. Troy was laughing while being held down, although was squirming and trying to get away.

"Shot, shot, shot, shot, shot," Chad began to chant, and a whole group of amused spectators began to join in with the chant.

"All right, I'll do one. ONE," Troy finally yelled.

Chad tentatively let go of Troy's right arm. Troy grabbed the shot that Jason held out and quickly downed it. Everyone erupted into cheers.

"Is this all to do with the story that everyone keeps starting to tell but never finishes?" Gabriella asked Taylor.

"Yeah…"

"Come on Tay, just tell me!"

"It's not a big deal. Troy just got wasted on these things apparently, at the party they had just after New Years. I guess it was after Troy got back from the lodge and before school went back. He was completely trashed, I mean to the point that he says he doesn't remember stuff that happened. I don't know details of what he did in this state though, I wasn't there of course."

"He seems really embarrassed by it, I mean, he really didn't want that shot, I could tell," Gabriella said.

"He's a big boy. Besides, from what I hear, he drank like eight of them that night after having a heap of beer, so I don't think that one is going to do any harm."

Gabriella was now starting to feel a slight affect from the alcohol. She was surprised that she didn't feel ill, and that she was still able to speak properly and walk in a straight line. It was interesting. She just felt… more relaxed. More comfortable. More confident.

"I think I'm starting to feel different… maybe it was the shot," Gabriella said to Taylor.

Taylor nodded in agreement. "It's weird isn't it?"

"Good weird," Gabriella said decidedly.

"Definitely good weird."

"So when are you and Troy going to hook up tonight?" Taylor asked slyly.

"Taylor, would you stop going on about Troy? Soon I'm going to think that you like him!"

"You know my eyes are elsewhere Gabriella. I just think it's stupid this dance the two of you are doing. Make a move girl! He thinks you look hot, he's all worried about how the alcohol is going to affect you, there's a dance floor inside that's going to get pumping pretty soon – why not show him what you've got?"

"Taylor, Troy is smashed. To be quite honest, I'm not sure how I feel about hanging out with him tonight and talking about our deeper feelings. It's kind of a sober conversation topic. Those guys are going nuts tonight!"

"May we have your attention please," a voice called from up above.

Taylor and Gabriella looked up. A group of guys from the basketball team – including Zeke, Troy, Jason and Chad – were standing on a balcony on the second level which overlooked the garden. Presumably the balcony belonged to the master bedroom.

"On behalf of the East High Varsity basketball team, we would like to congratulate **all** of East High's Wildcats for their achievements over the past couple of weeks," Chad announced.

Jason spoke next. "And on that note, we have a special presentation to symbolise our…" Jason trailed off, trying to remember his lines.

Troy whispered something in his ear. "…heartfelt gratitude," Jason finished.

The boys formed a line and turned around to face their backs towards the teens watching them from below. One by one, they pulled down their pants and underwear to reveal letters which were written on their asses. The boy would call out his letter as they went through the line.

"G"

"O"

"W"

"I"

"L"

"D"

"C"

"A"

"T"

"S"

"Exclamation point!"

The crowd whooped and wolf whistled. Gabriella was blushing, but giggling. Taylor's hand was covering her mouth in shock, but was also laughing. The boys pulled their pants up, turned around and bowed, and then ran back into the house.

"Bet you're glad that Chad was G so he had to stand there the longest," Gabriella said slyly.

"And I imagine you're wishing Troy hadn't been the exclamation point so he could have had longer as well," Taylor quickly replied.

The girls giggled. Soon some of the Wildcat basketballers began to rejoin the party. Jason came out from the house, and headed over to where Gabriella and Taylor were sitting by the fence.

"Hey girls, having a good night?"

"Yeah not bad. Nice ass by the way," Taylor commented.

"Thanks," Jason said with a grin.

---

Meanwhile, Chad and Troy were also reclothed and now in the kitchen, grabbing beer refills.

"I want to get with Taylor," Chad announced abruptly.

Chad without the lowered inhibitions brought about by alcohol consumption was a straight forward and direct guy. With alcohol, this directness multiplied.

"Then go get with her," Troy encouraged his friend. "She looks hot tonight by the way. They both do."

"Both?"

"Dude, who do you think I am referring to?"

"Oh… so yeah. You think I should go for it?" Chad asked breezily.

"Yeah man. She's into you."

"Hmm… I need a context. Spin the bottle. Brilliance."

"What are we, like twelve?" Troy asked.

"You should join in man, bring Gabriella along huh?"

Troy was mortified. "No fucking way will I invite Gabriella into a game where I might have to watch her kiss some other guy."

Chad shrugged. "Whatever."

A plan had evolved in Chad's brain. It wasn't the most sophisticated of plans, nor was it particularly romantic. He headed into the lounge room and shouted out to anyone who would listen.

"Whoever wants to play spin the bottle stay in here while I get more people!"

Chad's next stop was the kitchen area.

"Whoever wants to play spin the bottle, go wait in the lounge!"

Finally, to the backyard where most of the party was still congregating.

"Spin the bottle in the lounge!" Chad shouted. "Come now!"

He ran over to where Taylor and Gabriella were talking with Jason and now also Zeke. He grabbed Taylor's hand.

"Come on," he prompted her.

"Huh?" Taylor had no idea what was happening, but allowed Chad to drag her away.

"I'm in," Zeke said enthusiastically, following about a dozen other people who were heading inside.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "Is Chad serious? I haven't played spin the bottle since I was like thirteen."

"It's just his way of macking on Taylor," Jason informed her.

"Why doesn't he just talk to her like a regular human being?" Gabriella asked.

"I know you're new around here, but surely you've worked out that Chad isn't exactly a regular human being."

"I guess... so anyway, you don't seem like you're having a huge night," Gabriella observed, changing the subject. She wasn't particularly comfortable talking about Chad and Taylor with Jason. It wasn't because it was Jason, it was because she wasn't sure what she could say without betraying Taylor's confidence.

"Oh I'm having a good one, but just in control enough so that if people feel inspired to trash my folk's house, that I can get things in order," Jason revealed. "How about you? Enjoy your jelly shot?"

Gabriella nodded. "I've only had a few drinks… but then again I don't drink often so I think it's hitting me. At least I feel like I am. I've been going up and talking to all sorts of random people so that's a sign that it's relaxing me a bit anyway!"

"Uh… talked to Troy much tonight?" Jason asked slyly.

"Not you too," Gabriella said, aghast. "I've hardly talked to him to be honest. Between his skolling contests and crowd mooning and you lot tackling him and force feeding him vodka jelly shots, I don't know how I'm supposed to get a word in inchways."

"Actually… come to think about it… I haven't seen Troy since we were upstairs," Jason commented.

---

After being abandoned by Chad in his quest to make a move on Taylor, Troy had hung out in the kitchen for a while talking with some of the people who were in the musical. He excused himself after talking to them for a while.

"Damn fucking alcohol making me wanna piss," Troy grumbled.

There were a bunch of people waiting so Troy headed upstairs to use the second bathroom. He didn't realise it at the time, but a young blonde female followed him.

When you're drinking, you can be with a bunch of people and not really realise just how much you're feeling it. But then you go into the bathroom and you're on your own. You'll be swaying backwards and forwards, and look at yourself in the mirror and the reflection will be blurry. Then you find the poster on the back of the door which says "If you sprinkle when you tinkle be a sweetie wipe the seatie" absolutely hilarious. It's then that you know that you've had quite a bit to drink.

It occurred to Troy as he was standing alone in the bathroom that he really was feeling the affects of the alcohol. It had taken a while to set in that night, a lot of his behaviour was more as a result of his natural craziness and tendency to get into crazy situations with his mates, than a direct result from alcoholic influence. But now he was feeling it. It was a good level. He'd actually been quite careful – he wanted to be conscious the next day, or at least the next afternoon, to finish his assignment and do some other school work. He'd reached a pretty good level, and was glad he'd resisted from letting the boys force him into more than one shot.

Troy opened the door after finishing his business and literally ran into Jacqueline Murray. She was one of the junior cheerleaders, one of the more popular ones.

"Hey Troy boy."

"Hey Jacqui," Troy replied. "Having a big one hey."

Jacqui answered her own question when she stumbled a little over nothing in particular.

"Yes indeed. Nice ass you showed us earlier."

"Thanks. I aim to please."

She smiled flirtatiously. "Yes. Yes you do."

Troy and Jacqui had always been on pretty good terms, they ran in the same circle so had known each other for a few years. But he sensed that she had something else in mind.

"Anyway I'd better head back down, I don't think Jason wants us up here," Troy said, trying to divert her attention.

"We could hang around up here though. He wouldn't have to know. We could uh… have some fun of our own."

Troy coughed. "Jacqui…"

"It's just that I've been feeling lonely lately. Since breaking up with Scott and everything. Everyone is getting all coupley downstairs… it makes me miss having a guy in my life."

Jacqui took a step towards Troy, and ran her hand up his leg. She very gently grazed her fingertips across his crotch. Troy was frozen, his eyes were widened.

"So tell me, did Anita suck your cock last year when you guys snuck off during the Christmas dance…" Jacqui whispered into Troy's ear.

… **to be continued**

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Bites fingernails. Bottom left corner... click... provide feedback... Please please pretty please. I'm feeling nervous about this chapter.**


	7. The Party Part II

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is the second of two parts telling the story of Jason's party. Not only do I recommend you read all prior chapters before this one, but I particularly recommend you read Part I of the party. I also included a lengthy author's note in reference to the usage of language and depiction of adult themes in Part I.**

**Thanks so much to those who have been reviewing (you know who you are) particularly those who reviewed the last chapter which I was feeling a bit nervous about. Anyway, here's the next instalment. **

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_**Previously in 'Here With You'**_

"_I want to get with Taylor," Chad announced abruptly. _

"_Then go get with her," Troy encouraged his friend._

**AND**

_Jacqui took a step towards Troy, and ran her hand up his leg. She very gently grazed her fingertips across his crotch. Troy was frozen, his eyes were widened._

"_So tell me, did Anita suck your cock last year when you guys snuck off during the Christmas dance…" Jacqui whispered into his ear._

----------

**HERE WITH YOU**

**Chapter 7 – The Party (Part II)**

Gabriella somehow found herself in the midst of a long conversation with Jason in the backyard. It was the first time she'd really interacted with him in a one on one sense, and was surprised by just how well they got along.

It turned out that Jason was a huge movie buff, and was actually interested in pursuing a career in the behind the scenes aspects of film and television. He was filled with impressions and quotations from movies, and Gabriella found herself in stitches.

"Should we head inside and see what's going on?" Jason suggested.

"Yeah, I'm just about ready to grab another drink anyway," Gabriella said.

They headed into the house, Gabriella getting another pineapple mixer from the fridge as Jason grabbed another can of beer. They headed down the hallway and towards the lounge room to see who was around inside. As they turned the corner and entered the room, Gabriella's eyes widened as she blushed.

Chad was seated on an arm chair, Taylor on his lap sitting sideways, her legs over the chair leg. They were entangled in a very steamy, very passionate, very public make out session.

"Get a room," Jason called.

Chad didn't stop kissing Taylor, but he did manage to overcome the conceived inability of men to multi task in order to flash his middle finger up at Jason.

"I might have to get that chair disinfected," Jason remarked. Gabriella giggled.

---

Meanwhile, upstairs, Troy was in a rather precarious position. One of the hottest cheerleaders at East High presently had her hand pressed up against his crotch and was enquiring about his experience with blowjobs.

Troy was speechless for a moment. The thoughts that run through a teenage boys mind during this kind of encounter are anything but PG-13 rated. It would be so easy to go along with her implications because there were many appealing aspects to them, particularly after having more than a few drinks. There was a moment where Troy very seriously contemplated going along with Jacqui's flirtations.

However Troy was not completely wasted and, despite earlier antics involving partial nudity, he was a good guy. Jacqui was trashed and Troy was certain that she would not be offering her services if it were not for the alcoholic influence. And more importantly – there was another girl who had featured in Troy's thoughts since New Years Eve. Troy tried to speak, but his throat was dry. He coughed and swallowed, clearing his throat.

"Jacqui, this can't happen," he finally said quietly.

"It can happen if you want it to happen," she responded, squeezing him gently.

Troy firmly put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away from him.

"I don't want it to happen," he reiterated.

She pouted. "Why not? It's all just a little fun."

"You're wasted. And to be honest, I'm not looking for that kind of fun tonight." 'Not with you anyway,' Troy thought to himself.

Jacqui sighed and shrugged. "Your loss," she said breezily, and flounced down the stairs.

Troy was having trouble comprehending what had happened.

"Where the fuck is Chad when you want his advice," Troy grumbled

He quickly headed downstairs and into the lounge to search for Chad. He ran into Gabriella and Jason, who were on their way out of the room.

"Hey!" Troy exclaimed, seeing Gabriella. He felt strangely guilty, like he'd been cheating on her. Although not only had he not done anything, but he wasn't actually involved with Gabriella. "I so haven't seen you all night. Uh… just give me a minute and I'll come find you. I just uh… need to see Chad for a second."

"Good luck with that," Gabriella said wryly.

"Huh?"

"Take a look."

Gabriella gestured into the next room. Troy looked around the corner and into the lounge room where his mate was preoccupied. He groaned.

"All right, I'm going in," he said under his breath, and walked straight over to Chad and Taylor's embrace.

"Chad!" Troy shouted.

Chad pried himself away from Taylor.

"Dude, what?" Chad asked, clearly annoyed.

"Go away Troy," Taylor mumbled.

"I need to speak with you. NOW," Troy said very emphatically.

Chad sensed that something was up. He was put out but Troy was his mate and, he needed to piss, so figured a quick break was necessary anyway. He looked back at Taylor.

"Don't run away, this won't take long," he said with a grin.

"I'll just grab a drink and be waiting," Taylor said slyly.

Troy glanced back at where Gabriella and Jason were still watching in amusement.

"Gabriella, I promise, we'll catch up soon. Just give me a minute," Troy said.

He then grabbed Chad and dragged him upstairs.

"You've got lipstick all over your face," Troy informed him as they ascended the staircase.

"Who cares? Fuck man, Taylor is HOT. You gotten with Gabriella yet?"

"No! I've hardly seen her actually. Dude, I have to tell you about something."

"What?"

"Not here…"

Troy pulled Chad over to Jason's bedroom.

"You won't believe what just happened," Troy announced dramatically. "So I come up here to piss, I do my business, I come out and Jacqui was in the hallway waiting for me. We were just talking and next thing, she's standing this far away, grabs my mister, and basically offers to give me a blow job."

"And you're here with me why?" Chad asked incredublously.

Troy looked at his friend dumbfounded. "Do you listen to anything that I talk about? Ever?"

"If you're not going to make a move on Gabriella, then so what if you get a little action," Chad commented.

"Dude, you're sick."

Chad turned to Troy. "I have three words for you."

"Okay shoot."

Chad moved a step closer and brought his hands up to his mouth. "ASK OUT GABRIELLA," Chad shouted.

Troy was panicking. Sure the music was loud but Chad was also loud, and last he had seen Gabriella she was just down the stairs. What if she had heard him?

"Dude, don't…"

"ASK OUT GABRIELLA!"

"Chad it's not…"

"ASK OUT GABRIELLA!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Troy yelled back.

The boys fell silent.

"I take your point," Troy said, at normal level. "But I'm not doing it tonight. I'm pretty wasted hey. I don't think she would take me asking her out while I'm wasted as being a good thing."

"Then at least go talk to her man! You've hardly talked to her all night!"

Troy didn't say anything. He knew Chad was right on that one.

"Anyway I am gonna go piss, then head back to the gorgeous one that is waiting for the return of my lips."

"Just your lips?"

"For tonight. I do have **some** respect for women you know."

---

After Chad and Troy disappeared upstairs, Gabriella was quickly led aside by Taylor to be given an account of the innocent kiss in spin the bottle which somehow had become a seriously hot make out session in the Cross family lounge room.

"What am I doing? Me, Taylor McKessie. At a basketball team party making out with Chad Danforth. This is ridiculous! Am I dreaming? Pinch me, Gabriella."

"You guys have been flirting, it's hardly a surprise," Gabriella said.

"I wouldn't call it flirting… Flirting is you and Troy."

"Stop changing the subject," Gabriella said, feeling exasperated. "This is not about me and Troy. Seriously Tay – are you okay?"

Taylor nodded. "I am… it's fun letting go of who I'm supposed to be and just have fun. Besides… Chad is HOT."

Gabriella giggled. She was excited for her friend but at the same time she was feeling a little jealous. She had barely spoken a word to Troy all night. Obviously he was popular and so lots of people demanded his attention. But Chad was also popular and somehow he had dedicated a portion of his night to Taylor.

Chad returned shortly, stealing Taylor's attention away. Gabriella looked around for Troy but couldn't find him. So much for that promise.

For the first time that night, Gabriella was left to her own devices to find someone to talk to. She wandered about for a while, briefly saying hi to people as she passed. It was weird. She could walk in a straight line, could still speak clearly… but everything just seemed so much simpler. Things were funnier. She felt more relaxed, more confident speaking to strangers. She could see the appeal of having just a few drinks, but was failing to see the logic behind wanting to drink much more.

"Hey Gabriella," Martha called over.

Gabriella smiled and headed over to talk to Martha. The two girls wound up engaged in conversation for a while. They had a few classes together as well as knowing each other from the scholastic decathlon – Martha was one of the team's reserves.

"So you like hip hop dancing I hear," Gabriella said casually.

Martha nodded enthusiastically. "I love it. It was so hard not telling people how much I loved it for such a long time. I kept being afraid that someone would find out and think I was crazy. Like Taylor for example, we've known each other since middle school. She would call me to ask me to go study or whatever and I would have to make excuses about why I couldn't."

---

Troy headed downstairs after talking with Chad, and wound up in a conversation with some random people in his Algebra course who he'd never really talked to. He glanced at his watch and was surprised that it was nearly 11pm. He was annoyed with himself that he hadn't taken more time to talk with Gabriella. He felt guilty, he'd known how nervous she had been about the party and he had been really looking forward to spending time with her. He was walking through the kitchen to head out into the backyard to find her when he ran into Jason, Zeke, Scott and Simon on the way.

"What you guys up to?" Troy asked.

"We've decided Simon needs to get some action. We're deciding which chick he should try to score with," Scott informed Troy.

"Any suggestions?" Zeke asked. "What about Lana, the cute brunette over by the barbeque?"

Troy wrinkled up his nose. "I got with her at Scott's Halloween party, remember? She was… interesting. Rigorous tongue action. Too rigorous."

"Hmm… that could be all right," Simon said thoughtfully.

"Speaking of tongue action… where is Gabriella and why am I not seeing the two of you with some tongue action going on?" Zeke asked.

"Oh my God if everyone is so fucking obsessed with Gabriella then why don't you go hit on her?" Troy exclaimed.

"Are you giving me permission because she is one fine lady," Simon commented.

Troy's eyes widened. "Permission not granted. You back off buddy."

Simon laughed. "I wouldn't dream of trying to get her man. She's clearly into you anyway."

"Whatever," Troy grumbled, and stormed away, heading outside.

Troy was really frustrated. He had been feeling a really good buzz, he'd reached that point he told Gabriella was awesome – where he was going to be lucid the next day but was still having a great night. But he was sick of being told by everyone around him how he was supposed to be conducting his affairs.

"Sorry for being a nice guy and wanting to respect her. Sorry that I actually like her so I want more than a party pash," Troy muttered to himself.

He looked around the backyard and spotted Gabriella with Martha, sitting down on two of the outdoor lounges by the pool fence. Troy just gazed over at Gabriella. He'd felt annoyed just a second earlier, but suddenly he felt calm. Gabriella had that affect upon him. Just seeing her… it made the troubles of the universe seem so far away. She emanated beauty and purity and brilliance and passion just sitting there with her friend, talking, laughing, smiling.

'God she's gorgeous when she smiles… then again she's gorgeous all the time,' Troy thought to himself.

Troy strode across the yard.

"Hey," he said casually.

Gabriella stood up to greet him. "Hi. So uh… you got Chad away huh? What was all that about?"

"Oh yeah… Oh nothing really. Just uh… basketball stuff. Nothing important."

Martha cleared her throat. The looks these two were shooting one another made it clear that her presence was unnecessary.

"I'm gonna go inside. Sounds like the music is rocking in there, people are disappearing from out here so the dancing must be well underway."

Gabriella and Troy barely heard Martha leave.

"How you doing? I haven't gotten the chance to talk to you all night. I'm so sorry… I kept meaning to find you but people kept pulling me aside and…"

"It's fine Troy. This is your celebration. Anyway, it seems like you've been having a good time," Gabriella said, amused.

Troy blinked. For a second, he thought that she was referring to the incident with Jacqui.

"With the group performance upstairs and all the skolling and the pink jelly shots…" Gabriella elaborated, sensing his confusion.

"Oh… oh. Yeah. It's been a great night actually. And I'm not so completely wasted that I'll forget about it all either. Things to do tomorrow. Equations and what not. Can't have all your hard work from this morning go to waste, can we?"

"Absolutely not," Gabriella agreed.

Troy noticed that her drink was empty.

"Did you want to go and grab another one?" he asked, indicating to her drink.

"Umm… okay…"

Troy and Gabriella headed inside into the kitchen. Troy was rifling through an esky to find another beer, while Gabriella located her final mixer, raspberry flavour, from the fridge. She noted that all of Taylor's were gone as well.

"Why hello there little darling," a voice came from behind Gabriella.

She turned around slowly and saw a guy who she had seen around at school but not actually met.

"Uh… hi," Gabriella said, feeling a little awkward. "I don't think we've met. I'm Gabriella."

"What a beautiful name. I'm Steve."

"Nice to meet you Steve."

Troy was just across the room, still rifling through the esky. He wasn't liking what he was hearing.

"A beautiful girl like you deserves one of these, what do you say?" Steve held up a bottle of tequila and a shot glass.

"I'm fine thanks," Gabriella said.

"Oh but come on, that's not the party spirit!"

"No really, I don't want one, thanks anyway," Gabriella insisted.

Troy was now REALLY not liking what he was hearing.

"Sweetheart, just join in with the fun…"

"Look, she said she doesn't want one, so back off man," Troy said, stepping towards them.

Steve held his hands up in front of him defensively. "Woah, chill out dude. It's all good. I'll go take my bottle where it's wanted."

Gabriella had been feeling happy with the amount that she had consumed and the affect of it. She wasn't looking to wind up running around flashing her bra to everyone, like she had witnessed a cheerleader doing earlier. She was feeling happy and confident. It was nice being able to talk to random people without being nervous, to talk freely without feeling the need to say things that people expect you to say. A shot was the last thing she wanted and she didn't appreciate some drunken moron trying to pressure her into having one. So she was grateful to Troy for stepping in.

"Thanks," she said gratefully.

"You were doing all right without me. You stick to your guns. I like that you never feel like you have to do something you don't want to," Troy said admiringly.

"Come on, let's go back outside," Gabriella said.

She was finally getting her chance to spend time with Troy, and the last thing she wanted to do was stand around and talk about the one incident of the evening that she had been completely uncomfortable with.

Troy grabbed his beer and led Gabriella outside, and then around to the side of the house. The music was still audible, but they were able to talk more freely than in the backyard. There was a patch of grass, Troy flopped down and gazed up at the sky. Gabriella tentatively joined him, lying beside him.

"Woah… lying down when you've been drinking… that was a crazy head rush," Gabriella said in amazement.

Troy grinned. "I peaked pretty early tonight… I think I'd had about five drinks before you got here. But the last few drinks I slowed down on, even had a glass of water or two. So my buzz is coming down. I have to make this my last – and I'm sticking with you so you can make sure I don't have another," Troy told her.

"What if I don't wanna stick with you?" Gabriella asked teasingly.

"Bad luck. I'll follow you around like a bad smell."

Gabriella giggled. "This is my last one too. Except, my last is my fourth… well fifth if you count that shot."

"So how is it? The evil liquor. Are you okay with it? After our talk today, I got the impression you weren't going to drink anything."

She nodded. "I wasn't… but Taylor's sister bought us these drinks and… I don't know. I just did it. Have to try everything in life once I guess. It took a while, at first I felt nothing. But now it's good. I haven't had too many but it's strange… I feel happy, yet in control. I'm not sure I'd ever want to drink any more. I like it at this place."

"Tipsy?"

"I suppose it could be that. But yeah… I think my innocence has been exploited enough for one evening. Some of the stuff going on here is R rated!"

"Chad and Taylor looked pretty cosy," Troy commented.

"Too cosy if you ask me," Gabriella said disapprovingly.

"How do you mean? Chad's… I know he seems a bit full on but he wouldn't push her into anything."

Gabriella shrugged. "I guess it's different for girls and guys. I can't help but wonder if tomorrow morning Taylor is going to be thinking that she wouldn't be making out with him she hadn't had a few drinks. Or that he wouldn't want to be with her if he wasn't wasted."

"You analyse stuff too much Gabriella," Troy said. "Maybe Taylor will be thinking – that was fun last night."

"That's the way my brain works," Gabriella said. "Analysis and logical reasoning."

"Do you wish you weren't like that?" Troy asked, rolling onto his side, propping himself up on one elbow.

"I can't change who I am so why wish that I was someone different?"

Troy was in disbelief at just how easy it was to talk to Gabriella. He had a lot of friends, a lot of people at East High who always seemed to want to talk to him. But with Gabriella, it was easy, it was simple. There were guys on his basketball team he'd known since elementary school and still didn't feel completely comfortable around. But with Gabriella, he felt like he could say what he wanted, say what he felt, without fear of judgement or recrimination.

Gabriella was amazed by the conversation that followed. She'd been to a lot of schools and in that time, met a lot of people, even made a lot of friends. But none of those friendships had developed so quickly, forging such a connection, like what she had with Troy at East High. They talked for a long time, about anything and everything. Some of it deep and meaningful, some of it light and simple. Even after spending half the day together, and hours and hours rehearsing throughout the week, there was still so much to say. Gabriella liked talking to Troy – whether it was a Troy thing or a male thing, it was different having a big talk with him than with any of the girls she had been friends with. Things were simpler, more direct. Troy had a different perspective on a lot of things, a perspective you wouldn't expect to come from the mouth of a "lunkhead basketballer" as Taylor had labelled him.

The conversation eventually fell silent for a moment. They had both sat up and were just sitting side by side, leaning against the wall of the house. Troy glanced over at Gabriella shyly for a moment. He really really wanted to kiss her. It wasn't to do with the pressure from Chad and the guys, or because there were couples making out throughout the house. It was because in that moment in time, it felt like the right thing to do. Except, Troy was now freaking out because of what Gabriella had been saying earlier about making out while drinking. Would she think that he was only doing it because he was drinking? Because his buzz had come way, way down. And he'd only been thinking about kissing her since kissing her last time so it certainly wasn't a product of alcoholic persuasion.

Gabriella noticed Troy glancing over at her. She was regretting the stuff she had been saying earlier about Taylor and Chad and what Taylor would be thinking tomorrow. If she had had any chance of anything happening with Troy that night, she'd blown it when she opened her mouth and said all of that. He was never going to do anything now, even if he had wanted to before.

"Gabriella!" a voice called out in the backyard. "Gabriella!"

It was Taylor.

"Tay?" Gabriella called, quickly standing up.

Taylor came around the corner of the house. "There you guys are, I've been looking for you everywhere! My mom is here," Taylor informed Gabriella. She then stumbled.

"Tay, are you all right?" Gabriella asked carefully.

"Fine. Just drunk is all."

"But we drank exactly the same amount how…"

"Did you have three more jelly shots?" Taylor asked, a little smile on her face.

"Taylor! And your mom is here now? She can't see you like this!"

Gabriella was mortified. She could just imagine Mrs McKessie thinking that Taylor had never been to a big party until she became friends with Gabriella, and be convinced that Gabriella was the source of her daughters corruption.

Taylor's eyes widened. "You're right. Oh my God. Calm down, everybody calm down. It's all right." As she spoke, she swayed backwards and forwards slightly.

"Tay, you need to just get in the car and not say anything," Troy advised. "Say the party was fun, and that you're really tired. And then NOT A WORD."

Gabriella nodded. "Yes. I like that. I'll keep talking. Keep the attention away from you."

Taylor took a deep breath. "Okay then. I can do this. I can do this," she repeated to herself.

Troy walked the girls out to the front door.

Gabriella turned back to Troy as she led Taylor towards the car. "Thanks… uh…. I had fun. Really."

Troy grinned. "Me too. Uh… I'll see you Monday then?"

"Monday it is."

The girls hopped into the car and it pulled away. Chad came up behind Troy, resting his arm on his mates shoulder. He casually asked, "Did you hook up?"

Troy gave Chad a withering glare and walked away.

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So there you have it. The party. Woo hoo. Did you actually think that I was going to have Troy get with Jacqui? Please have some faith in me. ******** Review pretty please! **

**NEXT CHAPTER – A Sneak Peak!**

"_I don't get you man. You need to grow some balls and just go for it. After all, you're supposedly the East High stud so you should act like it for once. She is so into you," Chad insisted._


	8. Fear

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. Nor do I have any association with Mandy Moore whose lyrics I have quoted.**

----------

**HERE WITH YOU**

**Chapter 8 – Fear**

"_You know every thing that I'm afraid of_

_You do everything I wish I did_

_Everybody wants you_

_Every body loves you_

_I know I should tell you how I feel_

_I wish everyone would disappear_

_Every time you call me_

_I'm too scared to be me_

_I'm too shy to say_

_Ooh I got a crush on you_

_I hope you feel the way that I do_

_I get a rush when I'm with you_

_Ooh I got a crush on you, a crush on you."_

_- 'Crush' by Mandy Moore_

----------

After meeting out the front of the school, the boys headed to their lockers and then into homeroom. It was like any other morning – hanging out, waiting for everyone to arrive and the bell to ring. Gabriella was nearly always one of the last to arrive, as a result of her mothers own work schedule. She greeted the boys, flashing Troy a special smile, and headed back to her own desk. On the way, she paused next to Taylor, in her seat behind Chad. She had her head resting on the desk.

"Are you okay Tay?" she asked, clearly concerned.

"She's **still** feeling dodgy," Chad informed Gabriella with a grin.

"Shut up Chad," Taylor's muffled reply came.

"It was worth it though yeah?" he said, a little softer.

She looked up from the desk, glancing at Chad with a sly smile. "Yes, it was fun."

Gabriella rolled her eyes and kept walking to her desk. Troy glanced at the clock. Three minutes til the bell. He stood and went over, perching himself on the edge of Gabriella's desk, hands behind him supporting his weight.

"Hey… I just wanted to thank you again for Saturday morning," Troy said a little awkwardly.

The truth was that he was still a little self conscious about his outburst on the phone on Friday night. Still, it had led to not only an awesome Saturday hanging out with Gabriella all morning while she helped him study and good times at Jason's party; but also an incredibly productive Sunday. Not only did he finish his algebra assignment, but he completed all his weekend homework, breezed through his science revision and even looked ahead and the geography project.

Gabriella knew that he was a bit embarrassed but wanted to put him at ease. She reached out and placed her hand over where his was resting on the desk.

"It's fine, really. Thanks for rehearsing with me. To be honest I prefer rehearsing when it's just you and I. It was hard at rehearsals last week, always someone hanging around wanting to see how we are going. Besides – it wasn't all work. We had fun, didn't we?"

He grinned. "Absolutely. Did you enjoy the party?"

"I did. Thanks for calming my nerves – I know I'm a bit retarded when it comes to this kind of thing."

"You are many things Gabriella, but retarded is NOT one of them!"

The bell rang, and Miss Darbus wasted no time to begin her morning tradition.

"Mr Bolton, I see you continue to perceive that there is a chair shortage here at East High!"

Troy sighed. The start of another week. He glanced back at Gabriella as he walked towards his desk, making a silly face at her. She giggled. Maybe the start of another week wasn't such a bad thing.

----------

Chad was becoming increasingly frustrated being a witness to the dance that Troy and Gabriella were playing. He'd come to terms with his best mates new singing thing. He had acknowledged that Gabriella was a positive influence, seeing as she made Troy happy. After taking the time to get to know her, Chad could see why his friend liked her. She was cute, and smart, and funny – different to Troy's usual type, but then again his usual type had never resulted in any kind of serious relationship.

However, the 'will they, won't they' drama was wearing thin. They would send constant text messages throughout the day, pass notes in common classes, flash little smiles. Gabriella would giggle and Troy would blush. Nearly every sentence from Troy's mouth would begin with 'Man, you should have seen what Gabriella did…' or 'Gabriella said that…' or 'I was with Gabriella when…' It was like a sickening episode of Dawson's Creek, with sexual tension a knife could cut but absolutely nothing being done about it.

For Chad, the party and Troy's lack of action was the final straw.

It was time for a man to man chat.

Chad finally had his chance the next day, Tuesday, as he and Troy headed from science class to the quad for their free period. In the past they would have headed to the gym for practice, but now that basketball season was over, the boys had time to chill out and relax. The talk couldn't have come sooner for Chad – he had just spent an hour watching as Troy made moon eyes at Gabriella across the room.

"Dude, we have to talk," Chad declared.

It wasn't Chad's style to skirt around the topic. He preferred to be upfront; he found it was a far more effective way of communicating.

"We do? Are you still shitty with me about Friday? I thought we sorted that out before the party."

Chad rolled his eyes. "Pffft. Ancient history. No, what we need to do is have a man to man talk about chicks."

"You need advice about Taylor?" Troy asked with a grin. He still couldn't believe that Chad and Tay had something developing. In so many ways it was the most unlikely pairing imaginable. In other ways, it made perfect sense.

"That's NOT what I was referring to. I'm talking about you and Gabriella. What's the go?"

"What do you mean, what's the go?"

"Well, are you going out?"

Troy was trying to remain casual. He knew this conversation was going to happen with Chad sooner than later. Chad was the one who would recommend chicks for Troy to get with at parties. Who pointed out that the new girl in the cheer squad was particularly hot and had been talking about Troy all the way through English class. Troy was actually surprised that Chad hadn't put the pressure on him earlier.

"I already told you that I kissed her at the schools after party. Since then, we talk on the phone a lot. She came over to study on Saturday. And we hung out at Jason's party for a while. That's about it."

His description was very vague. It lacked context. Troy didn't mention how he would have to work up the courage every night to call her, because he was worried that maybe she would secretly be thinking how annoying it was that he called every night. Or how every moment of every conversation he had with her was mesmerising, that every word that Gabriella spoke was pure magic. Nor did Troy talk about how amazingly perfect it felt when he was holding her hand as they practiced the songs for the musical. Chad wasn't stupid though – he didn't need Troy to spell it out in black and white to know just how seriously his friend felt about this girl.

"I don't get you man. You need to grow some balls and just go for it. After all, you're the campus stud so you should act like it for once. She is so into you," Chad insisted, before adding with a grin, "and if you don't mind me saying – Gabriella is one hot babe."

"Goes without saying. But are you going somewhere with this?"

"If you don't make a move, someone else might. Guys at the party were checking her out. People are noticing her. And your lack of action might make her think that you've lost interest and, she just might move on."

Chad's technique at the time was to make Troy jealous of the potential threats out there. In reality, Chad very much so doubted that Gabriella had eyes for anyone but Troy.

Troy wasn't sure how to respond. His feelings about Gabriella and the prospect of dating her were a bit muddled.

"I just… I'm not good with the whole dating thing. I haven't really been into that scene before. It's unchartered territory. It was cool hanging out with her on Saturday but… I don't know. To actually ask her out..."

Chad sighed. It was time to stop being Chad, dating God, basketball stud, macho man. He put on his, best mate of Troy Bolton for ten years face, and became very serious.

"I know you think that I don't get it but I do. I get that you really like her Troy. I get that this is deep and serious. And I get that you're scared. But do yourself a favour and get over it because when you ask her out and the two of you finally get together, you're going to look back on this conversation and realise how stupid you were being."

----------

Taylor and Gabriella headed into their calculus class. Mr Davis wasn't there, instead seated at the front of the room was Mrs Windsor. She was an older teacher, relatively easy going, and known as the schools resident substitute teacher. More or less, her purpose within East High was to fill in when teachers were absent. Normally, the girls might have been a bit annoyed about missing a calculus class. It wasn't that they found it so exciting, but rather that it was important for the scholastic decathlon, and it was also one of those subjects where a missed lesson was hard for the teacher to catch up on. However neither one of the girls minded. Mrs Windsor's policy when filling in last minute and not having specific study instructions left was to tell the students that as long as they were in their places and not being too loud, they could do whatever they wanted. This worked perfectly for the girls, as they both felt that a gossip session was necessary.

"Rehearsal yesterday was so funny. Miss Darbus was out the back talking to the home economics people about costume fittings and Troy grabbed the microphone…"

Taylor inwardly groaned. Yet another story about something that Troy did that was 'so cute.'

"…and then he was pretending to beat box. We were all in stitches. It was so cute."

Taylor raised her eyebrows, not finding it particularly impressive. Gabriella noticed Taylor's lack of enthusiasm.

"Maybe you had to be there," Gabriella said.

"Maybe you just worship the ground Troy walks on and that's why you find it so fascinating," Taylor teased.

"You have to admit the guys are funny though – especially Jason!"

"That was a surprise," Taylor admitted. "I've only just gotten to really knowing them after kind of knowing them for years. I never would have picked Jason to have such a great sense of humour."

"So uh… speaking of the guys – has Chad asked you out yet?" Gabriella asked with a giggle.

Taylor quickly returned, "Has Troy asked YOU out yet?"

"I asked first."

"Very mature Gabriella."

Taylor was avoiding talking about Chad and Gabriella knew it. But she also knew that girls liked to talk about the boys that they liked, even if they were pretending to be casual about it.

"Just answer the question," Gabriella said.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "No he hasn't."

"Do you want him to?"

The events of the preceding weeks had been an eye opener for Taylor. Until Gabriella's transfer, Taylor hadn't even realised that she wasn't completely happy within her little social circle. It was only after making a true friend that she realised that she hadn't really been close with her 'friends.' Every day, Taylor was grateful to Miss Montez's company for bringing the two of them to Albuquerque; she was thankful to the real estate agent for finding the house in a neighbourhood close to East High – and she was even thankful to Sharpay for putting the internet print outs about Gabriella into her locker.

The lessons Taylor had learnt and were continuing to learn within the new life she had acquired were more valuable than any calculus class. It was ironic that Taylor had always seen herself and her group as being superior because they were above the high school scene when in reality, she was just as much to blame for the stereotypical cliques as anyone. She had gone along with the standard mentality of a smart girl in a high school that the jocks must be morons and be avoided, that the academically inclined were superior. Thanks to Gabriella, she had forged a strategic alliance with her enemy. Through a peculiar turn of events, Taylor had come to realise that people can be different – but it doesn't make them superior or inferior to one another.

With those changes came the ability to be more open minded, particularly about some of the members of the East High basketball team. Some of them were still morons – and Taylor continued to choose to not associate with them. But the tight group of four that she had found herself spending more and more time with were good guys. They had surprised her with their creativity, dedication, humour and passion.

Chad Danforth had always and still irritated the hell out of Taylor. His constant male bravado, comments made with the intention to elicit a squabble and never ending immaturity. So admitting that she had feelings for him was harder than it sounded. Taylor had spent years despising Chad and everything that she misguidedly thought he stood for. But now that she allowed herself to get to know him, she was beginning to see his layers. At first it was when they realised their plan to keep Gabriella and Troy apart was not having the desired affect. She saw that Chad deeply cared about his friend. He was upset because Troy was upset. He was passionate about wanting to do something to make the situation right. And now, it was little things. Turning around to chat in homeroom. Saving her a seat next to him in the cafeteria. Sending her random text messages at night. Amidst the making out, they'd sat down at the party and had a real conversation – sure both of them were under the influence of more than a couple of alcoholic drinks, but perhaps that was the key to each of them letting down their masks and just talking and getting to know one another.

"We enjoy bantering, and he flirts with me. And it was fun kissing him at the after party… and then at Jason's party. But I guess I don't see Chad as being the boyfriend kind of guy. And you know what, to be honest with you, I'm not really a girlfriend kind of girl. At least not right now. Which I suppose works well."

Taylor felt a little uncomfortable talking about Chad. She had never really had close girlfriends and so the whole, talking about deeper emotions was still a little unnerving. She decided to change the subject.

"So you're still right to meet after school today and on Thursday for the decathlon?" Taylor asked Gabriella.

"Yeah of course. I feel bad… I know you guys have been meeting without me lots. I can't believe the second round is this Friday!" Gabriella said.

"It's okay, we probably should change our practice times, meet before school once a week, and at lunch maybe," Taylor said. "Oh and if we win this Friday – fingers crossed – I found out the date of the third round. Freddie won't be able to come, he has some family wedding or something. So I was thinking that we ask Martha to replace him. She's good with history and English and stuff, which are Freddie's strongest points."

Gabriella nodded. "Sounds good. Martha is really nice – and no offense to the other people on the team, but a whole lot more interesting. I talked to her for a while on Saturday night while you were otherwise occupied."

"She is really nice, she's a top chick. Both smart and has attitude – anyone who enjoys hip hop dancing must have a personality!"

"What do you reckon the guys would think if we invited Martha to come sit with us?" Gabriella mused.

"Oh I don't know… I know things are changing but it's gradual. Maybe we should just make the effort ourselves, like when the guys are off practicing we could hang with her. Invite her to one of our study sessions, that kind of thing."

Taylor suspected this was part of the reason why she was still fairly sceptical about the sudden movement towards actually being in the same social circle as the boys. Despite the changes that had taken place, Taylor really couldn't imagine the boys going from being the centre of social gravity to hanging out with a whole bunch of smart girls. She knew that Gabriella had been accepted because Troy was so completely smitten. And then Taylor and Gabriella had quickly become a package deal.

Gabriella's cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Taylor watched as her friend pulled her phone out and checked it. Taylor knew instantly that it was Troy, the dreamy smile on Gabriella's face gave it all away. Which reminded her…

"So, you ever did answer my question. What is happening with Troy, has he asked you out yet?" Taylor asked.

Gabriella sighed. "No. I really thought he might. I mean he did kiss me at the school's after party… and we've been close and everything. And it's not like he hasn't had the opportunity. We talk on the phone all the time, I was at his house before the party on Saturday studying and rehearsing and just hanging. And we had a bit of a D&M at Jason's. Also we text message all the time. I just can't help but think that maybe… maybe he's just not interested in that way. Maybe he really just does see me as a really good friend."

It bothered Taylor that Gabriella was feeling so negative. Every one knew that these two going out was inevitable. It was just a question of when it would happen. Taylor's older sister always told her that boys like girls who are confident. Taylor couldn't help but question whether Troy's hesitation to ask Gabriella out had anything to do with Gabriella's attitude. She didn't want him to think she liked him so she was trying to be casual. He might see this casualness and take it to be lukewarm feelings towards him.

"No way sister, don't even go there. Troy Bolton has been a new man since you arrived. I don't know what I can say to convince you of this but you have to believe me when I say that he is so into you."

----------

After school on Tuesday, Troy had played some two on two with the guys. His game had been right off, a clear indication that his head was not in the game. He headed home at about 4:30 and flopped down on his bed, basketball in hand, staring at the ceiling. He was deep in thought. He casually tossed the ball in the air with his right hand, caught it with both, then tossed the ball again. Toss in the air with right hand, catch with both hands. Toss in the air, catch. Toss, catch. Toss, catch.

Trust Chad to push the right buttons and cause such deep reflection. It was evidence that Chad knew Troy very well, possibly better than Troy knew himself.

Troy was contemplating more than Gabriella – he was contemplating his life. Before Gabriella…

It was funny, that was now a mechanism of defining a time era… 'Before Gabriella'

Before Gabriella, life had been relatively simple. Troy had always been fairly easy going, easily making friends. Basketball wasn't something that he did because it made him cool. Basketball was a passion, it was something he loved. It just so turned out that Troy was good at basketball, really really good. And his team was good. And they started to win.

By simply being himself and doing what he loved, the kids at school had responded to him. East High was one of those stereotypical American high schools which celebrated successful athletes, where pep rallies were a common occurrence and cheerleader tryouts were a major landmark on the school's calendar. Making the starting line up for the varsity team in his sophomore year elevated Troy's social status even further. Before he knew it, everyone knew him. He couldn't walk through a corridor without having at least five people stop him to say hi.

Troy wasn't naive, he knew that things kind of revolved around him. It wasn't something he came out searching for – he just fell into it. He didn't play up to it, he didn't think of himself as being superior. At the end of the day, it was about Troy, playing the sport he loved, with the best mates a guy could have.

Troy was a typical guy, he had eyes and he had hormones. Attention from the cheerleaders was nice. He'd casually gone around with a few of them – going around meaning hanging out with at school and at parties and other group events, making out a bit, and then ending things. The truth was that Troy didn't really see the point in any of it. Sure, each of the girls he'd been involved with had been hot, but he hadn't been really attracted to any of them. At the end of the day, he would rather be playing a game of two on two with Chad, Zeke and Jason than pretending to care about what dress this month's cheerleader girlfriend was contemplating wearing to the upcoming school dance. The six to nine months, he had been so fiercely dedicated to training that even less time was allowed for the girlfriend scene. Before Gabriella, Troy had never really taken the concept of soul mates or destiny or any of that girly romantic rubbish seriously.

Before Gabriella…

New Years Eve marked more than the end of one year and the beginning of another. It marked the beginning of an era. After Gabriella…

Whether you consider it fate or a stroke of pure chance, some random guy who Troy never met - and probably never would - shone a spotlight on him and he was pushed onto the stage at the ski lodge to participate in some bogus karaoke night.

The connection they forged was instant. He looked at her and just knew that there was something there, something special. He knew nothing about her and yet he knew everything he needed to know.

Like kindergarten.

He hadn't even learnt her name when he first started falling for her.

The bond he had developed with Gabriella since her arrival at East High was incredible. A bond that Troy never thought he could feel with anyone. He had made this amazing friend who was allowing him to explore aspects of himself that he hadn't even realised existed just a month or so earlier. He found himself depending on her, missing her when she wasn't around, seeking her out to spend more time with her.

Did Troy want to ask her out? Of course he did.

Trust Chad to hit the nail on the head.

Troy Bolton was terrified. Terrified that she would realise that he really wasn't all that special. Terrified of losing the best thing that had happened to his life.

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE – I just wanted to thank those of you who have been sticking with this story, and for the lovely reviews that some of you have been leaving. My hit count seems to be gradually going down (I wish I'd never looked at the statistics page) and so I again would implore people to leave any constructive comments they feel appropriate… I just can't help but think that there are a whole stack of people out there who read my chapter and think "this is crap" and then never come back to it. I quite genuinely want to be able to improve.**

**Additionally, in relation to this chapter – I worked really, really hard on a few key aspects of it. It was really important to me that I hit this on the head. I wanted to draw out his asking Gabriella out because the whole thing with Gabriella is that she is different – that the emotions and experiences that Troy is having with her are different to any that he has previously had. So whereas he's normally the cool guy on campus, I wanted to demonstrate that his feelings for Gabriella have hit him so hard to the point that he doesn't feel like the cool guy anymore. I really wanted to get into his Troy's thought process to explain that, so I hope I've done that justice. **


	9. Now or Never

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. Nor do I have any affiliation with the lovely boys from Thirsty Merc, whose lyrics I have quoted for my opening.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE – Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, it seriously means to the world to me each time someone takes the time to let me know their thoughts. In particular I want to acknowledge Saviour of Soul who highlighted that she would have liked to see some more of Gabriella's thought process. I just spent two hours editing this chapter, just for you! **

**A random side note – Happy ****Wildcat**** New Year one and all!**

----------

**HERE WITH YOU**

**Chapter 9 – Now or Never**

"_If you could read my troubled mind  
If only you could feel my heart beat overtime  
I'd make it known on this earth forever  
I want you  
And it's now or never  
It's now or never"_

_- 'Now or Never' by Thirsty Merc_

----------

Tuesday had been an overwhelming day for Troy. He now understood the term epiphany. Troy was a relatively simple guy, he didn't undertake a lot of deep self examination. Rather he just went along with the flow of things. But thanks to Chad Danforth forcing his brain to reflect, he now couldn't do anything other than think. A dangerous activity.

After dinner on Tuesday night, Troy headed straight into his room with the intention of reading a book for English. After reading and rereading the same page about eight times with no recollection of the plot so far, Troy resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to be able to concentrate due to the million other contemplations invading his thought space. His train of thought was interrupted by a knock at his bedroom door.

"Yeah?" Troy called.

Jack opened the door slowly. Seeing Troy lying back on his bed with a book in hand was a surprise in itself. Troy sensed his father's shock.

"It's for English," Troy informed him.

"Right. Uh… if you're busy…"

"Nah it's good. What's up?"

"I just wanted to see if you're all right, you were a bit quiet at dinner," Jack observed as he closed the door behind him.

"I guess. Maybe."

"Anything in particular on your mind?"

"I guess…"

"You don't have to talk about it. But I'm here if you do want to."

Troy was close with his dad. Up until very recently, he'd felt as though he could talk to his father about anything. The subject of Gabriella, however, had been somewhat taboo. Troy suspected that despite what his father claimed, he still had reservations about his son's participation in the school musical. Gabriella was therefore, by association, a touchy subject.

"Nah I do… it's just…" Troy paused. "Dad, if I wanted to ask your advice about something, could you promise me that you won't answer me as Coach Bolton who wants me focused all year round and disapproves of the musical and all people involved in it. Instead could you just be my father?"

"Troy I'm always first and foremost your father," Jack assured him. "I know I get a bit full on sometimes with basketball… but ultimately, your happiness is my top priority."

Troy nodded. "Right then."

"So what's all this about?" Jack prodded.

"I… I want to ask out Gabriella," Troy said carefully.

Jack had suspected it was going to be about a girl. At sixteen, it's always about a girl. And the girl that was constantly being brought up by his son was none other than Gabriella Montez.

"And?"

"I'm scared."

Scared is a big word, a huge word. Not big in letters or syllables. But big in its connotations. Big because, for a teenage boy to admit that he's scared about something, he's letting down a thick guard; the guard where boys like to be men, to be brave, to be strong. Men aren't scared. He knew that this was something Troy was very serious about, or else he wouldn't be using a big word like scared.

"Why are you scared?" Jack asked gently.

"What if she says no? Or even worse, she says yes and we go out and then she doesn't like me?"

"Look I don't known how Gabriella feels about you. I can't predict that it would go well if you did ask her out. Sometimes, you ask a girl out and she says no. Sometimes, you go on a date and it will go badly. And then you wonder why you ever asked them out in the first place."

"Dad, this isn't very helpful," Troy said, clearly exasperated.

Jack continued. "Sometimes, she will say yes, and you'll go out and have a great time. So, when you say 'what if she says no' – I say, 'what if she says yes?' What if by taking the risk, you create something even more special than what you have now?"

Troy didn't respond, he just contemplated what his dad had said.

"Do you remember when we played the Northern Rivers College team. Right before halftime, we were trailing by 1 point. You were at the back of the court and said that you had a split second to decide what to do. You could go for the jump shot, but you had two defenders coming right at you. Or you could pass it out to your one open man – Jimmy, an inexperienced sophomore who had come off the bench when Scott was injured. It was a risk but it paid off – you passed it out to Jimmy and he got it back to you when you opened up and made the shot. We went to half time in the lead, a huge morale booster for the team. Zeke asked you why you didn't go for the jump shot the first time, and what did you say to him?" Jack asked.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Troy said slowly with a sigh.

"Exactly. You can leave things as they are and it might be okay but you'll always wonder what more there could have been. Or you can take the risk and go for it, in the hope of creating something far better."

----------

Troy stood in the boys' bathroom at East High on Wednesday morning before school. He had glanced around the urinals and checked in the stalls. It was empty. Good. He turned and looked in the mirror.

"So uh… Gabriella… do you like movies?"

"Gabriella. I would very much so be honoured if you would do me the pleasure of accompanying me out to dinner on Saturday evening."

"Babe, sup? Saturday, you and me. What you say?"

He groaned. "This is hopeless."

----------

Just as Troy headed into homeroom after his disastrous rehearsal in the bathroom mirror, Taylor and Gabriella were coming from the opposite direction.

"Hey Troy," Taylor greeted him.

"Morning," Gabriella said cheerfully.

"Gabriella. Hi. Uh… I uh… I like your earrings," Troy said awkwardly.

Her hands flew up to her ears. "Oh thank you. Mom got these for me for Christmas."

"They are very pretty," he added.

A half snort, half laugh came from Taylor. It was pathetic really. Troy, the school's cool guy, had become a blithering idiot.

Troy shot her a death stare. "Are you all right, Taylor?"

"Fine," she managed to say with a straight face. "We going in?"

The bell rang soon after and Miss Darbus began her morning ritual of shouting about cell phone misbehaviour, assigning detentions and making announcements. Taylor ripped a piece of paper from her binder and wrote a note. She folded it in half and wrote on the front:

'Chad, read this and then pass it to Troy.'

When Miss Darbus wasn't looking, she quickly tapped Chad on the shoulder and passed it to him. Chad opened it up and stifled a laugh upon reading it. He added his own contribution to the note and then passed it onto Troy.

'Hurry up and ask out Gabriella out or I am going to personally contact the captain of the West High Knights and ask him out on her behalf. Taylor.'

'I have his e-mail. I'll help her' Chad had added.

Troy wasn't impressed. He wrote four block letters and passed it back.

'STFU'

----------

Science was one of the few classes that Troy had with Gabriella. The first lesson after the call backs, Troy had brazenly taken the empty seat next to where Gabriella sat. Since then, he'd sat next to her in science. Sometimes they would pass notes, exchange glances when the teacher was saying something particularly boring or stupid. And whenever they broke into groups to do experiments, he was always quick to make sure he got into a group with Gabriella. That day they were asked to break into pairs. Troy groaned and glanced around, trying to find someone to go with other than Gabriella because he wasn't sure he could stand another awkward moment. But no, apparently everyone assumed they were going to work together.

"Looks like it's you and me Wildcat," Gabriella said.

"Uh yeah," Troy said awkwardly.

"So, we have to do this experiment here… it looks pretty simple, I did this at my old school," Gabriella said.

"Okay," was all Troy could manage to say.

"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked, looking at him strangely.

"I'm fine… I think I'm just tired. I didn't sleep much last night."

Gabriella seemed to take his comment at face value and continued to take the lead in doing the experiment. Troy inwardly groaned. He was having difficulty talking to her, let alone asking her out. It really was rather ridiculous. He decided there and then that it had to stop, that at lunch he would take her aside and ask her out and put the whole thing to rest.

----------

Troy picked at his lunch for about ten minutes, pretending to listen to the conversation that was going on around him but really completely zoned out. He was mentally psyching himself up.

"Hey Gabriella… wanna come for a walk with me?" Troy suddenly blurted out. "I uh… need to get something from the library."

"Sure," she said agreeably. "Can I just finish my yoghurt first?"

"Of course, that's fine," Troy said.

Chad and Troy then had a brief conversation through body language. Chad looked at Troy, raising his eyebrows, asking 'so, you're gonna ask her hey?' Troy nodded slightly. Chad grinned. Two minutes later when Gabriella finished her yoghurt and gathered her belongings, Chad said, "Good luck buddy."

"Yeah man, I really need luck getting a textbook," Troy said, shooting Chad an evil glare.

All Chad could do was laugh. Young love.

----------

The walk to the library was fairly quiet. Gabriella sensed that Troy's head was a million miles away and she was a bit intimidated to say anything. After all he'd told her in science he was just tired, and she had no reason to question that. But still, it seemed like something more was bugging him and it bothered her that he was upset but wasn't saying anything about it.

Troy spent the whole walk practising the sentence in his head.

'Gabriella, would you like to go out with me?'

Nine words. Nine measly words.

Those nine words were scaring the crap out of Troy.

Before he knew it they'd reached the library so figured he'd wait until the walk back. He quickly located a textbook which he apparently needed – although he actually already had a copy at home – and then continued to practice the line in his head as they headed back.

"Mind if I go to my locker?" Gabriella asked.

"Sure, that's fine," Troy said awkwardly. He took a deep breath. "So uh… any plans for the weekend?"

Gabriella swallowed. In a time space of just a few seconds, a million thoughts were going on in the highly complex brain of Gabriella Montez. Taylor had suggested that this would be a very likely lead in to the big question.

'_Okay, breathe, relax, stay cool, be casual,' _Gabriella told herself.

She shook her head. "Big nada. We have the second scholastic decathlon round on Friday night, after rehearsal. So I've been doing a lot of preparation for that in my spare time… I might have to get stuck into my homework."

Troy nodded. "Right… homework… uh… Gabriella… I was wondering…"

"Troy!" a high pitched female voice called out.

Troy looked up and saw Sharpay strutting towards them. He sighed, and then put on a smile.

"Hi Sharpay," he said, trying to sound as cheery as possible.

"Hi Troy," Sharpay said. She turned slightly to Gabriella and said in a less cheerful voice, "Gabriella."

"Sharpay," Gabriella replied.

"Listen, I just wanted to make sure that you were going to be at rehearsal today. Miss Darbus wanted me to work with you on your movement during your big ballad," Sharpay asked Troy.

"Course I'll be there. Wouldn't miss it for the world. You know that."

Sharpay giggled. "Fabulous. I'll see you this afternoon then… and, you too Gabriella."

"See you then Sharpay," Gabriella said.

"Toodles!"

Troy groaned as soon as Sharpay was out of earshot. "Sharpay is choreographing my part? Sharpay? I'll be doing… spirit fingers and… and… tap dancing."

Gabriella giggled. "You can stand up to her."

"Oh I don't know. Sharpay is scary."

"So anyway…. What were you saying?" Gabriella said hopefully.

Troy panicked. He'd been so ready to ask, but his rhythm had been destroyed.

"Uh… I don't remember. Anyway, we should get back to the group."

----------

Drama was painful. A half hour alone with Gabriella. Troy couldn't remember any of his lines, and he couldn't even remember lyrics to 'Breaking Free'. Miss Darbus looked particularly concerned when she came in to check up on how the pair were going. Rehearsal was even more painful – Troy would have preferred the awkwardness with Gabriella than working with Sharpay. Finally the rehearsal was over – and the awkwardness returned for the walk home.

"So uh… do **you** have any plans for the weekend?" Gabriella asked casually, as they turned into her street.

Troy swallowed. He could ask her right now. He could so easily say, 'Not yet, but I had an idea in mind.'

"Not yet," he said awkwardly. "Uh… I tend to make plans last thing Friday though, so who knows what might happen."

"Oh…" Gabriella said simply, inwardly sighing.

"Anyway I should get going, dad wanted to do some training with me this afternoon so uh… I'll see you tomorrow then," Troy said quickly.

"Sure. I'll see you then," Gabriella said with a forced smile, and closed the door behind her with a sigh. She went over to the couch and flopped down, letting out a frustrated groan.

Tears began to well in her eyes. It was January 31st. In a few hours, she could declare that she'd known Troy Bolton for exactly one month. It was just one month earlier when she'd been on winter vacation at the ski lodge, being pushed onto the stage and having a microphone shoved into her hand. Life had been a whirlwind since then. Gabriella sometimes felt the need to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. It really did feel like a dream sometimes. Never in Gabriella's wildest thoughts could she have predicted she would be set to star in a school musical.

It wasn't just the musical though, it was her whole world. At her previous schools, Gabriella had kept to herself. She'd sat with the other smart kids in the cafeteria, if she wasn't studying in the library. It was hard, changing schools all the time, trying to break into already established groups. She'd finally make a break through and form a real friendship with someone and be uprooted yet again. After a while, Gabriella gave up trying. It was easier to curl up with a book in the library and submerge herself into someone else's exciting life than actually try to live a life of her own.

And now here she was, spending her lunch hours surrounded by some of the most popular boys in school, going to drunken parties, gossipping and bonding with the first REAL friend that she'd had in years – and finding herself falling head over heels for a certain lunkhead basketball man.

She knew that she was book smart, that she could recite the entire table of periodic elements, that she could calculate complex sums in her brain, she had a somewhat photographic memory and so could recite pages of Shakespeare with little rehearsal. But Gabriella was beginning to question her people reading ability.

'_Am I completely deluded? Am I misreading this entire situation? Sure he holds my hand a lot, and there's this charge of electricity when his hand grazes my arm when we are talking. But that doesn't MEAN anything. It's very possible that when he's gazing at me, it's not because he's feeling what I'm feeling. Maybe it's because I have something on my face, or food stuck between my teeth. Why did I ever think that Troy Bolton would actually be interested in me like that anyway, ME, Gabriella Montez. Freaky math girl. Troy should be with a peppy cheerleader in a miniskirt.'_

It didn't help that Gabriella had Taylor on the side trying to convince her that it was going to happen. The more time that passed since the triple win and the kiss under the stars in Troy's sanctuary, the more that Gabriella was questioning whether the feelings were mutual. Unfortunately, the more time that passed, the more time that Gabriella had to spend with Troy and get to know him. And the more that she was falling for his passion, his humour, his soulfully penetrating eyes…

Gabriella sat up suddenly, wiping the tears from her cheeks. It wasn't like her to mope around about a boy. She was independent; she didn't need a guy in her life to be happy.

Heading into the kitchen and pressing the play button on the flashing answering machine, Gabriella listened to a message from her mom asking if she would mind starting dinner. She pulled items out of the fridge and began to toss a salad, mentally listing the positives of the situation as she washed and chopped lettuce.

'_So I'm forming this really amazing friendship with Troy. I'm enjoying the time that I spend with him. There is some sort of spark – so what if he's taking his time. It means he is a gentleman and respects me. And if it's because he doesn't feel the same way…'_

Gabriella felt her lower lip begin to quiver. The tough act wasn't going to work, not on this one. She had fallen hard and fast. Thinking about the possibility that the flirtation wasn't going anywhere… it physically hurt, a strained pulling in Gabriella's stomach.

---

Meanwhile, the whole walk from Gabriella's to his house, Troy was mentally kicking himself.

"What the hell is wrong with you Bolton? Just because Gabriella is gorgeous and amazing and brilliant and makes you feel things you never thought you'd feel. That should be more of a reason to ask her out!" Troy muttered under his breath.

The front door was unlocked, Troy called out a quick hello to his parents and bounded up the stairs. He threw his bag down on the ground and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. Contacts, G. Troy put the phone down on the bed, staring at the image. It was the photo from New Years Eve – well it was after the midnight countdown so technically from New Years Day. She was effulgent, effervescent, glowing…

Troy pressed the green call button, dialling her number. It was now or never.

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE – Thoughts? Comments? Opinions? Suggestions? Pretty please. :-) **


	10. The Awkward Silence Thing

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. Nor do I own Buffy the Vampire Slayer from where I have sourced my opening quote.**

**RANDOM AUTHOR'S NOTE - I purchased myself a belated Christmas present – a huge poster sized version of Zac's Rolling Stone cover... drool... I seriously contemplated calling in sick for work after buying it, I just wanted to lie in bed and gaze at it on my wall adoringly. I got out a measuring tape and put it at Zac's height. It's pretty close to being life sized, so I thought it would be interesting to see how high on my tippy toes I would have to be to kiss him. I only just make it so Zac, when I'm in the US in March and fate intervenes and ensures I meet you, you're going to have to lean down a bit, all right? (I am seriously deluded, aren't I?)**

----------

**HERE WITH YOU**

**Chapter 10 – The Awkward Silence Thing**

_Buffy: Do the talking thing._

_Willow: Well, what if the talking thing becomes the awkward-silence thing?_

_- Excerpt from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer Season 2 'Surprise'_

----------

**Previously…**

**Troy pressed the green call button, dialling her number. It was now or never.**

---

Gabriella sniffling as she chopped up tomatoes for the salad she was preparing. She had tried to comfort herself thinking about the positive elements of this drawn out flirtation with Troy. But she'd wound up back in the place where she wanted to curl up in the foetal position and cry, she was so frustrated with the situation. So now she was in the process of dividing fractions in her brain, in an attempt to force her brain to not contemplate depressing notions.

Gabriella's cell phone rang. She expected it to be her mom calling, checking up on her, and was curious as to why she would be calling her cell rather than the landline. Gabriella was surprised to see Troy's picture – he'd just left her house ten minutes earlier, and he didn't normally call until after dinner.

"Hey," she said, her surprise evident to him.

"I know I normally call later and you're probably busy."

"It's all good, I'm just making dinner. I can talk."

"Right… okay…"

Troy took a deep breath. 'Here goes,' he thought.

"Uh… well I was wondering… you see…" Troy cleared his throat. "Would you maybe… if you're not busy… I was wondering if you uh… would be interested in doing something on Saturday night." Troy paused.

Gabriella froze, not responding.

"Like go out. Somewhere. With me," Troy added unnecessarily, trying to fill the silence which was making him feel rather vulnerable.

'_Smooth Bolton,'_ Troy thought, groaning inwardly.

Gabriella was gaping. Literally. Her mouth had dropped open. She went to speak but the only sound her dry mouth was willing to emit was a slight hacking sound. She swallowed and cleared her throat.

"You're… you're asking me out?"

"Well I… yeah. What do you think?" Troy held his breath, waiting for her response.

"Like a date?" she questioned, still in disbelief.

Despite every pep talk attempt of Taylor's, Gabriella really had convinced herself that it wasn't going to happen. Five minutes earlier, she'd been in tears because she was so frustrated with her supposedly unrequited feelings. So she was struggling to comprehend what she was hearing.

"Yes. A date."

"With you?"

"No I was asking on behalf of Justin Timberlake," Troy said sarcastically, clearing becoming impatient. "Of course with me and the fact that you haven't answered yet is making me feel rather insecure so if you're going to reject me then…"

"Of course I'll go out with you!" Gabriella exclaimed, cutting him off. She took a breath, composing herself, and added more casually, "That sounds great… fantastic…"

In their separate houses, the grins which were on the faces of Troy and Gabriella were akin. In a similar fashion, Troy tried to suppress his elation with a front of casualness.

"Awesome. Cool. Well uh… we'll talk about the details at school I guess. And I'll let you get back to making dinner and stuff."

"Okay great. Well I uh… I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Gabriella hung up and shrieked.

"Oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God!"

She opened her phone again and dialled Taylor's number. Taylor picked up and said "Hel…" before Gabriella blurted out, "Troy asked me out, Troy asked me out!!!!!"

"Finally," Taylor replied, rolling her eyes.

---

Troy flopped down on his bed. "Holy fuck," he said out loud, to no one in particular.

Troy send Chad a text message - 'I did it. I asked her out. And she said yes.'

Chad's reply was very direct, very simplistic – very accurate.

'Finally.'

----------

Gabriella woke up the next morning, feeling strangely nervous. There were now two whole school days until her date with Troy – two whole days of pressure and waiting. She wasn't sure what to say to him. If they should talk about the date and what they might do, or pretend that nothing had happened. She couldn't help but worry about whether he might change his mind and think that maybe they shouldn't be going out.

Gabriella decided on a course of action.

Avoidance.

She slipped into homeroom just as the bell rang. All she had to do then was smile at Troy and acknowledge he was there. As soon as homeroom was over, she went over to Taylor and hurried her out the door.

"What the hell… what's with the rush?" Taylor asked.

"I'll explain, just let's go okay?"

Meanwhile, Troy was still in his seat, gathering his stuff, watching as Gabriella rushed from the room hardly giving him a sideways glance.

"That was weird," Zeke commented. "No cute flirting today huh?"

"Nah. Maybe coz I asked her out," Troy said casually.

Zeke looked up at the ceiling. "Praise the Lord, finally!"

"You asked her out?" Jason asked. "And now she's being weird and ignoring you?"

"She was probably just in a rush to be somewhere," Troy said, not very convincingly.

----------

When Troy arrived at science class, the seniors in the room before them were still inside, just finishing up the lesson. Gabriella was standing just outside the door, waiting to go in. He came up behind her and touched her arm slightly. She looked around in shock, holding her hand to her chest. She hadn't heard him coming, and was taken by surprise.

"Troy… hey… hi… how are you?" Gabriella stammered.

"I'm good. Excellent. And how are you?"

"Good… fine… good… and you?" Troy looked at her strangely. Gabriella realised what she had said and laughed nervously. "We did you, didn't we?"

The seniors were just beginning to file out of the room, and Gabriella slipped in and quickly opened her textbook. She started to answer some random exercise questions on a page, just so that Troy would leave her alone. He sat silently in his place next to her and waited patiently for the lesson to begin.

----------

The next two days were painful. A painful series of stammered conversations and excuses to leave. Gabriella had had the fortune of Friday night's decathlon as a mechanism to excuse why she wasn't around – meeting with the team at lunch Thursday and Friday, as well as after school and before school. However Friday's drama class came around, where it was going to be physically impossible to avoid Troy any longer. Especially due to Miss Darbus's relatively consistent routine with half the time for classroom theory, half the time to prepare for the musical.

To be frank, Troy was annoyed with her. He finally worked up the courage to ask her out, and she responds by ignoring him? Was he imagining it when she said yes to his proposition? He'd seen her talking perfectly comfortably with Taylor and other people, so he knew that it was about him. She could not make that fact more obvious.

He stopped trying to communicate with her, as far as Troy was concerned it was up to her. When Miss Darbus permitted the pair to go into the empty room next door to rehearse, Troy decided then and there he wasn't going to say a word. They filed out of their regular classroom in silence. Troy sat on the teachers desk at the front. Gabriella sat down behind a desk in the front row. For almost five minutes they just sat in complete silence, reading their scripts as though they were fascinating items that neither had laid eyes upon.

Under regular circumstances, you can mask when something like this happens, hope that no one heard, that people were talking. But in the deathly silence of the classroom that afternoon, there was no masking of the sound whatsoever.

Troy farted.

Gabriella exploded in giggles. She began to laugh so hard that she couldn't stop. Her cheeks hurt and her stomach hurt but there was no stopping the laughter. Soon Troy was laughing just at the sight of Gabriella laughing. She would finally begin to calm down, but then look at him and would be laughing all over again. She had tears streaming down her cheeks, that was the point that the uncontrollable laughter had reached.

Finally, they both calmed down, and despite his earlier resolution Troy relented and spoke.

"This is ridiculous," he declared. "We spend all this time together and now that we're going to go on a date, suddenly you have nothing to say to me?"

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity. "I know, I know. I've just been… nervous. I kept thinking maybe you would change your mind and say you didn't want to go out any more. Stupid I know…"

"You didn't need to avoid me though," Troy commented with a smile.

"Me avoid you? When did I avoid you?" Gabriella asked, trying to deny it.

"Umm let's see shall we… when you came into homeroom at the last minute both yesterday and today, for one. In science, when you pretended to be paying extra special attention to the point that I didn't want to pass you a note even though I know that you are so above our class that you don't need to pay attention. And I know the decathlon is tonight so you guys have been meeting, but you didn't even come buy lunch from the cafeteria today or yesterday."

Gabriella was guilty and they both knew it.

"I wasn't avoiding you because I didn't want to see you. The whole time I was avoiding you I was really wishing I was talking to you," Gabriella confessed.

"Me too," Troy said earnestly. "I just uh… yeah… maybe we can just forget all the stupidity and start all over with the whole date thing. So Gabriella, what are you doing on Saturday night?"

"Oh I have plans. Sorry," she responded with a giggle.

"Play along, would you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well Troy, at the moment I have no plans of such. Why do you ask?"

"How would you like to go out on a date with the captain of the varsity basketball team?"

"Hmm… I've seen him around. He's all right," Gabriella commented casually.

"Just all right?" Troy asked. It was all a little game but he couldn't help but feel a little insecure. "I can tell you that he thinks that you are beautiful."

Gabriella blushed. "Well in that case, you can tell him that I think he is amazingly gorgeous and that I would love to go out with him."

They both laughed and fell silent for a second.

"We probably should rehearse for at least a bit," Gabriella said regretfully. "Miss Darbus will come in and do her check soon."

"That she will. She's a crazy old loon but at least she'd predictable."

And soon they became immersed into the world of Minnie and Arnold

----------

Troy walked Gabriella to the science block where she was meeting the rest of the decathlon team. The meet was at Albuquerque Girls College and they were carpooling with one of their parents and their supervisor, the mathematics head of department, Mr. Davis.

"So uh… I'll come by at 6:30 tomorrow night?" Troy asked.

"Sure, sounds good. May I ask where we are going?"

"You can ask but I won't tell. It's a surprise."

Gabriella groaned. "You're evil Troy Bolton. You know I like control."

"You'll like my surprise. Well, at least I hope so."

"Can you give me a hint so I dress appropriately?'

"Whatever you wear, you will look fabulous Gabriella I am sure."

He thought for a moment, and remembered a time when the guys had been out with a bunch of the cheerleaders. They'd all worn little skirts and heels and spent half the day whinging that they were cold and their feet were sore. So on afterthought, he decided to give her a little guidance.

"You don't need to dress up lots. We might be outside and it's been pretty chilly at night so keep that in mind. Oh, and wear comfy shoes – no hiking boots required, but if you wear six inch heels you might find you'll regret it," Troy advised.

"Troy, do you really think that I would own a pair of six inch heels?" Gabriella asked. "Do you know me but at all?"

"My mom owns about eighty five pairs of shoes so I wouldn't put it past you."

"So… until tomorrow night," Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. "Uh… just so you know… I'm really looking forward to it. Our date. I think… I think it is going to be really really good. Despite the last few days of weirdness."

"Me too."

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek gently. "Good luck tonight. Text me and let me know how you go – I'm not going to call because we might just sit in silence. So I'll see you tomorrow."

She giggled and opened the door behind her. "See you Troy."

Gabriella stood just outside the room, watching as he walked away.

"Oh and by the way... amazingly gorgeous was an understatement… try amazingly, incredibly, fantastically gorgeous and hot and sexy…" she said softly to herself.

"Who? Me?" a voice said from behind her.

Gabriella turned around and blushed.

"Taylor! Don't sneak up on me!"

"How was rehearsal?" Taylor asked.

"Good. Really good. We talked… it's all good."

Taylor knew that Gabriella had been avoiding Troy since he asked her out.

"See I told you that you were being stupid," Taylor said knowingly.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah. Come on. No time for chit chat – we have a decathlon to win!"

----------

Troy's parents were relatively easy going. They were the type of parents who, as long as Troy remained upfront about where he was going and what he was doing, they were okay with it. They knew that they had raised a good kid who they could trust. Nevertheless, when Troy was planning out his evening with Gabriella, he knew that it was all depending on a major concession on his dad's part which he wasn't sure if even his liberal parents would allow. The Bolton family would sit down together for dinner most nights of the week. Troy knew that this was the optimum time to bring up his request.

"So uh… I'm not going to be home for dinner tomorrow night," Troy said casually.

"Oh?" Jack asked. "Are you going over to Chad's?"

"No, not to Chad's. Uh, actually, on the topic of tomorrow night, I wanted to ask a favour dad."

Troy was being very polite. Jack and Lucille knew their son well enough to know when he wanted something that they might not want to give.

"Go on," Jack said warily.

"Well uh… I've had my driver's license for a while now and you know that I am a very responsible driver. So I was wondering whether I might be allowed to borrow your car tomorrow night?" Troy asked, praying that he would agree.

"If it's to go out hooning with Chad and the guys then absolutely not," Lucille answered on Jack's behalf.

"Mom, I think you know me well enough to realise that I don't go 'hooning' with Chad and the guys," Troy said, feeling slightly exasperated.

"That would be because none of you have cars. If you did then I'm sure it might be a different situation," she responded.

"Besides, I already said, I'm not going over to Chad's," Troy countered.

"Troy, where are you going and why do you want my car?" Jack asked.

"Umm… because I need to be able to drive around downtown. The public transport in this town really isn't safe at night."

"And for what reason would you need to be cruising around downtown on a Saturday night?"

Troy sighed. "Because Gabriella and I are going out on a date."

"You asked her!" Jack said, sounding somewhat proud.

"Yeah."

"And she said yes?"

"Well, I just asked to borrow your car didn't I?"

Jack held his hand up. "Yes Troy you may borrow my car on Saturday night."

Troy blinked. "Really?"

"Really."

"You're not messing with me?"

"Do you want me to change my mind?" Jack asked.

"No!" Troy said very quickly. "No please don't. Thank you. Thanks."

And the plan was falling into place.

----------

Troy was working on his geography project when his text message tone sounded. He picked up his phone, grinning seeing who the recipient was.

"We kicked ass. See you tomorrow night. Love, Gabriella."

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE – Eternal thanks to those of you who have been reviewing, you know who you are. More than ever, I need you to put pressure on me to write write write people. I just mapped out the rest of this story, and then the subsequent set of stories which follow up on this one that my brain is telling me that it wants to write. I go overseas at the beginning of March. To put it politely – I've got a shitload of writing to get done if I want to do it all before I leave. We're talking multiple posts each day. Completely unrealistic but a girl can dream, can't she? **


	11. No Turning Back

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. Nor do I own 'Dawson's Creek' from where I sourced my opening quote.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry it's not quite the date... but this is one of the first chapters I wrote actually, so it's going to be drawn out for just one more chapter. I'm evil, aren't I? Anyway, hope you enjoy, and please refer to my author's note at the end. Thanks :-)**

----------

**HERE WITH YOU**

**Chapter 11 – No Turning Back**

_Bessie: The way I see it, the second kiss, it's always tougher than the first one… that first kiss… It's the passionate one. It's the one filled by desire and attraction, and all of that, but the second kiss is rational. You got time to worry, and over analyze and most women...they prefer that first kiss, but I'm partial to the second one because it's about something more. You'll get that second kiss Joey and when you do it'll be great. It'll be real. It'll be meaningful._

_- Excerpt from Dawson's Creek Episode 2X01_

----------

It was the sound of a rather annoying bird chirping outside her window that roused Gabriella from her slumber. She yawned and stretched a little under the doona cover. She was annoyed because Saturday was the only day that she allowed herself to sleep in. Gabriella was silently cursing the bird for disrupting her sleep when it occurred to her her.

It was Saturday.

She immediately sat up. Tonight was the night. In less than twelve hours, she would be not only on her first official date ever but that date was with Troy Bolton. Troy Bolton, East High's hottie super bum Wildcat superstar; Troy Bolton the amazing brilliant guy she had met at the lodge; Troy Bolton, who had swept her off her feet since she had moved to Albuquerque.

Gabriella suddenly felt ill. The trepidation she felt was greater that she felt on the day of a scholastic decathlon. It was worse than singing at the lodge on New Years Eve. And it was beyond the time she tried to do a solo for the church choir. Gabriella was petrified. What had she been thinking falling for Troy Bolton? What insanity had he been experiencing actually wanting to go on a date with her? There was this little voice in the back of Gabriella's head that was convinced that it was going to be a complete and utter disaster.

In a failed attempt to keep herself busy throughout the morning, Gabriella tried to do some homework and do research for an assignment. However she simply couldn't concentrate. She kept doodling love hearts, and writing "GM 4 TB" in the margins of the page. So instead she decided to paint her nails, and then proceeded to pull outfits from her wardrobe.

"I've never been on a date! I don't know what I should wear!" she exclaimed out loud to no one in particular.

Gabriella decided that reinforcements were necessary.

"Taylor!" she whined into her phone. "I don't know what to wear!"

"Gabriella, you have to calm down. Do you want me to come over?"

"Oh you don't have to…"

"Gabriella."

"Yes please," she said quietly.

"Give me about half an hour. In the meantime just… try not to get yourself too nervous."

When Taylor arrived, she found Gabriella in her room with more or less every item of clothing from her wardrobe and dresser draws laying out on her bed. Dresses, skirts, pants, halter tops, strapless tops, sparky tops, sweaters, cardigans – they were scattered all across the bed. Along with several pairs of shoes and half a dozen handbags.

"When did the hurricane hit?" Taylor asked with a smirk.

"New Years Eve. And I believe it is named Hurricane Troy," Gabriella groaned.

"I don't know why you're so freaked out Gabriella. You guys have been spending heaps of time together since you came to East High."

"Yeah… but it was all just fun before. This… this is **real**. There is pressure. We are acknowledging there is something between us. If I mess up tonight then that could very well be the end of what is the best thing that ever happened to me!"

"What could you possibly mess up?" Taylor asked. "I mean seriously… this is just like all the other times you've been hanging out, except he'll buy you dinner."

"He might think I look ugly. Or what if he just realises how boring I am? What if everything goes weird and uncomfortable like it has been the last couple of days? What if…"

Taylor clamped her hand over Gabriella's mouth, silencing her.

"Okay point 1 – you looking ugly. We will find you the right outfit to wear and then you can stop going on about looking ugly because it depresses me when gorgeous girls like you get all self conscious," Taylor began.

"Fine. Whatever."

"Point 2," Taylor continued. "Gabriella… you have to realise that this isn't like you've just met Troy. If you'd just met and he asked you out on a whim then maybe he might change his mind about how he feels about you. But this isn't like that. You know each other and obviously he doesn't think you're boring or he wouldn't have asked you out."

Gabriella didn't say anything.

"Point 3," Taylor went on. "The weirdness. The problem of the last few days was that you were nervous around each other. Which is why you need to calm down! If you be yourselves then that won't be a problem. If it goes weird, just have some back up topics of conversation to fall back on to break the ice."

"Like?" Gabriella asked warily.

"School, the musical. Hell, gossip about Chad and I if you like. If at any time you're feeling like you were the last couple of days, like you really don't know what to talk about – just bring up something simple like that. Get yourself feeling comfortable."

Gabriella was feeling a bit calmer. She was nervous – but it was manageable. She had all sorts of fears about what could go wrong but in the end, Gabriella was a logical, reasonable person. She knew that obviously there was spark between her and Troy and that things should be fine if she remained calm.

"So now that you've moved on from the point of hysteria – let's pick your outfit," Taylor suggested.

"I hate my wardrobe," Gabriella said with a groan. "I should be going shopping but I really can't afford to."

"You've got heaps of cute clothes," Taylor said, sifting through the pile on the bed.

It was ironic that the two girls who had bonded over their absence of firm nail beds were now here discussing clothing.

"But nothing right for tonight," Gabriella complained.

"Where is he taking you?"

"He said it's a surprise. Said that I don't need to be really dressy, said that we could be outside so keep the weather in mind, and warned me that I shouldn't wear big heels."

"Do you want to make a 'I'm so hot, don't you want me?' statement; or just a 'don't I look pretty' statement?" Taylor asked.

"Uh… a little from column A, a little from column B I guess. Where do you get this stuff from anyway?"

"I keep telling you, everything I know about boys is from my older sister. She knows everything there is to know about boys and dating. She's a bit of a slut but it's okay because thanks to her I know a lot," Taylor said frankly.

Gabriella gasped and giggled. "Taylor! That's mean! You can't say that about your own sister."

Taylor shrugged. "Eh, she knows it. She doesn't sleep around – she's just had a lot of boyfriends. And a lot of kissing involved… and stuff…"

Gabriella's eyes widened, suddenly freaking out about something new. "Do you think he'll kiss me?"

"Didn't you already kiss?"

"Well yes but I wasn't expecting that. It just happened. Now I'm going to be sitting there all night wondering if he's going to kiss me and whether my lips are dry or if I have something stuck between my teeth!"

---

Meanwhile at the Bolton household, Troy was just rolling out of bed. He'd woken up earlier and realised it was Saturday, the big date night. And so he rolled back over and went to sleep again. The theory was that if he was asleep then he wasn't awake agonising about the evening to come.

However the plan backfired and Troy had a dream about the date instead. In the dream, he was late picking her up, then the car broke down. They finally arrived at the restaurant and Troy realised he was wearing mismatching shoes. He found himself unable to talk about anything but basketball, and Gabriella was bored out of her mind and decided that he was, after all, just a dumb jock.

Troy woke up sweating. He groaned and rolled out of bed and over to his desk, turning on the computer. Troy impatiently waited for it to load. He opened his MSN Messenger and meanwhile logged onto his MySpace. There were a couple of comments – one from a fellow basketball Wildcat, one from a member of the Twinkle Towne cast. Chad logged onto MSN just a few minutes after Troy.

The boys chatted for a couple of minutes. Chad knew instantly that Troy was out of sorts, and he knew why. He didn't need to be told, it was just a part of the bond that they'd formed over the years. Troy said he was going to go and have a shower and grab some breakfast, and the conversation ended.

Troy headed downstairs after showering and getting dressed and was surprised to see Chad sitting at the dining table, chatting with Coach Bolton.

"'Sup," he greeted Troy. "Wanna shoot some hoops?"

In three hours, not a word was spoken about the date. The boys just played, talked about the game that was on TV the night before, and talked about some of the East High sophomores that they thought would get picked for the squad the following season. The afternoon flew and at about 4pm, Chad glanced at his watch.

"I should take off man."

Troy walked Chad to the door, with Chad calling a good bye to Jack and Lucille Bolton who were both in the lounge room. Chad turned back to his friend.

"Uh… just be yourself tonight dude. You're a good guy yeah? So just be yourself and she'll be even more wrapped in you than she already is."

Troy nodded. "Uh… thanks for coming over."

Although the words were very rarely said, Troy was eternally grateful for having a friend like Chad Danforth. He wasn't thanking him for coming over to hang out. He was thanking his friend for knowing him well enough to realise that he was freaking out; that Chad knew to come over and just chill, hang out and keep him calm. Chad was a true mate, knew him back to front and inside out and was consistently there to depend on.

Chad nodded, understanding the layers of connotation to the simple thank you. "It's all good."

----------

"Gabi honey? Can I come in?" Elena Montez called through the bathroom door.

"Okay."

Elena creaked the door open and couldn't help but smile. Just over a month ago, she had been on Christmas vacation at a ski lodge in Colorado. She remembered it so clearly. She had practically had to drag Gabriella away from her book to go to the teen party. She knew that her daughter didn't want to interact with a group of strangers, she was too shy; let alone get dressed up for them.

And here they were, a month later, and her Gabi was fussing in front of the mirror with make up and with jewellery scattered across the counter to pick from. Getting ready to go on a date with a boy who she was co-starring in a school musical with. How things could change in such a short space of time.

Gabriella was becoming frustrated with her mascara. Her mother watched in amusement as Gabriella tried to apply it, but would wind up with smudges on her upper cheek.

"Do you want some help Gabi?" Elena asked softly.

"Yes please mom," Gabriella responded in a small voice.

Elena helped Gabriella with the remaining of her make up. She couldn't help but feel a bit welled up at the sight of her baby girl, all grown up, about to go on her first date.

"Please don't get upset mom. I'm too nervous, I can't deal with you being upset," Gabriella said.

Elena laughed gently. "I'm not upset. I'm happy."

"You are?"

"Of course I am. I mean… it's a bit scary realising that you're growing up but you're a special girl Gabi, and you deserve happiness and it makes me happy to see you happy. I'm so glad that you've been able to settle in so well here, and make some special friends."

"Do you like Troy?" Gabriella asked her mom.

"I don't know him well. The little I do know him, I got a good feeling from. He seems like a very decent young man. I think the more important question is whether you like Troy."

"I do. I like him a lot. I really really really like him lots and lots. I know you say that I'm special all the time but I don't really believe it… but… Troy makes me feel special. Sometimes we look at each other and I know that he likes me too. But I can't help but freak out that after tonight, he won't feel the same way."

Elena kissed her daughter on the forehead. "Just be Gabriella."

---

Troy was sitting on the couch, flicking through television channels. He had gotten ready ridiculously early and now was waiting. Gabriella lived about a two minute drive away – meaning that there was almost an hour until he needed to leave. His dad came into the room and sat next to his son.

"Here," Jack said simply, handing over the keys.

"Thanks," Troy responded.

They sat in silence for a moment, both studying the commercial for shampoo that was playing.

Jack cleared his throat. "Gabriella is a nice girl. I might have had my reservations at first but I know she makes you happy, which makes her a good person in my book. So uh… good luck tonight son."

Troy looked up at his father, who was trying to remain manly and aloof but clearly was having one of those 'my boy is growing up' life moments.

"Thanks dad," Troy said simply.

They turned back to the TV.

----------

Troy's heart was beating at a rapid rate. It was as though he'd just finished a fierce one on one with Chad, although all Troy had done was drive to Gabriella's and walk up the driveway. His hand was poised over the doorbell, and gently pressed the button.

This was it. No turning back now.

----

Gabriella fussed in front of the mirror which was in the front hallway in her house. She looked up alarmed, hearing a car pull up out the front. She quickly looked in the mirror again. No lipstick on teeth, check. No random splotches of make up, check. She glanced down. Fly done up, check.

The doorbell rang.

This was it. No turning back now.

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE – There were a few things that I was trying to capture in this chapter. Firstly, I was really trying to capture the difference between men and women. I mean it's all stereotype but I think that in the case of these characters, it works. Girls like to talk about the boys that they like, they freak out before dates, they spend hours agonising. Guys go through it all but it's more so an internal thought process. Similarly, I was really trying to capture was the difference between relationships between mothers and daughters and fathers and sons. That women are generally more in touch with their emotions and consequently will have long winded discussions about them. And that men find it a bit uncomfortable talking about them, so a lot of emotion is discussed subliminally and subconsciously. Finally, I was also trying to demonstrate just how long Troy and Chad have been mates, and the depth of their friendship. That when you're that close, words aren't necessary sometimes. Gabriella and Taylor on the other hand have only just met so whereas they are close, they don't have that level of awareness yet. **

**I had a couple of friends read over this chapter and one of them totally got it, and the other one got it after I told her but before that she'd just questioned whether I'd been lazy in not going into depth with Troy's emotional response in preparation for the date. **

**Did you guys get that, or was it good that I included this AN? Just curious…**

**Oh and don't worry, I won't draw it out any longer. The date will occur in the next chapter. I promise. :-) **


	12. First Date

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. I have not met Albert Einstein who I have quoted. I acknowledge that I have acquired the restaurant name of 'Javu' from the television show Friends because I have no imagination and it was bugging me having "Insert name of restaurant here" highlighted in pink **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay I could only draw it out for so long… finally… the date… well Part 1 of it anyway! This is fairly conversation heavy… which I'm concerned makes it drag a little but well, they're at dinner, they will be having conversation, is that not reasonable? Hmm anyway… hope you enjoy.**

----------

**Chapter 12 – First Date**

_How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?_

_- Albert Einstein_

----------

**Previously…**

Troy's heart was beating at a rapid rate. It was as though he'd just finished a fierce one on one with Chad, although all Troy had done was drive to Gabriella's and walk up the driveway. His hand was poised over the doorbell, and gently pressed the button.

This was it. No turning back now.

----------

Gabriella stood on the other side of the door, just a plank of wood and some stained glass windows separating her from Troy. She took one final glance down at herself before taking a deep breath and opening the door slowly. She poked her head around, slowly revealing herself to Troy.

Troy took a sharp breath, taking in Gabriella's appearance. He didn't even try to pretend that he wasn't admiring her. She hadn't overdressed like the plastic bimbo cheerleaders he had been out with before. Skinny leg blue jeans; a floaty, shimmery black singlet which was cut low enough to spark the imagination without being promiscuous; her hair left out and wild, framing her face; and a touch of make up later – and Gabriella had transcended from being gorgeous like she was naturally, into the realm of hot.

"Hi," Gabriella greeted him shyly.

She too took a moment to admire his appearance. In contrast to Gabriella's afternoon of preparation, Troy had taken about five seconds to pull out an outfit of choice from his closet, wearing a white t-shirt, a black sports coat, dark blue jeans, and white converse.

"Hey… you uh… you look amazing," Troy managed to say, after his obvious display of admiration. He leaned forward and kissed her softly on the cheek, taking her hands with his.

"You don't have to say that," Gabriella said, blushing.

"But I mean it," Troy insisted.

"Well then uh… thank you. You don't scrub up half bad yourself," Gabriella teased. She then motioned towards the black cardigan that she had over her arm. "Will I need this?"

"Later on probably."

"Okay… umm just give me a second."

Gabriella poked her head into the study.

"Bye mom," she said.

"Bye sweetheart," Elena Montez said. She mouthed to her daughter 'I love you' and blew her a kiss.

Troy led Gabriella down to his dad's station wagon, holding the passenger side door open for her. Gabriella couldn't help but giggle.

"What?" Troy asked dubiously as she stepped into the car.

"Oh… it's nothing." He raised his eyebrows, and Gabriella relented. "You're just so cute… holding the door open…"

Troy grinned. "I was brought up well," he said, and closed her door. He quickly made his way around to the driver's side and turned the key in the ignition.

"Do I get to know where we're going yet?" Gabriella asked, as they pulled away from the curb.

"Dinner to start with," Troy answered.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Anything more specific?"

Troy relented. "It's nowhere fancy. It's this adorable little restaurant called Javu. It's sort of multi functional, it's more café style during the day, becomes a bit classier at night, and then later on in the evening it's more of a bar. I just really like it there – plus it has an amazing view."

"Did you just describe this place as 'adorable'?" Gabriella asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe. And you can add that to the list of things that go to your grave with you missy."

"Okay then, secret safe with me. And after dinner…" Gabriella prodded.

"Patience is a virtue," Troy said mysteriously.

She poked her tongue out at him and he laughed.

----------

Twenty minutes later they were seated at the table Troy had requested over the phone when making the booking at Javu. It was in a quiet corner of the alfresco balcony area, which had plastic screens to protect the area from the elements, and heat lamps to maintain a comfortable temperature. They were seated in the perfect location to take in the picturesque view which Troy loved so much. The restaurant was in an elevated portion of the city, overlooking the sights.

"Now, you'll have Alexandra looking after you tonight, she'll be over in a few minutes. Would you like to order any drinks in the meantime?"

"Just a coke for me thanks," Troy said.

"Umm, could I just have a glass of water for now," Gabriella answered.

The drinks order was jotted down and the couple were left alone.

"Who knew that Albuquerque could look so stunning," Gabriella said with surprise, gazing out over the view.

"What, all the desert and rocks fooled you huh?"

They turned to their menus. Reading the menu and all the delicious items made Gabriella realise she was ravenous – a fact which was relayed to anyone near by as her tummy rumbled. She winced, slightly embarrassed.

"I didn't eat much lunch today," Gabriella explained to Troy. "I uh… I was a bit nervous. I don't eat when I'm nervous."

"Don't worry, I was feeling nervous also," Troy confessed. "Except… I now feel stupid for having been so nervous. Now that I'm here with you, I don't feel nervous at all. This feels… right? You know? Do you know? Are you still nervous? Because if you are, don't be."

Troy was rambling which Gabriella found utterly charming.

"You sound a bit nervous," she teased him.

"Well maybe I'm a **little** nervous," Troy admitted. "But not in the, I feel like I'm going to throw up way like I felt when I was working up to asking you out."

"I know what you mean though," Gabriella said very seriously. "I feel good now. It does feel right being here… with you. I'm… I'm so glad we're doing this. I was beginning to think you'd never ask me out."

"So you'd been waiting for me to ask?" Troy queried, a smile toying on his lips.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Well duh…"

"Yeah. We're back at the nerves thing."

"Let's move on from that then," Gabriella suggested, and changed the subject quickly. "This menu is fantastic!"

"Isn't it? And it's within Troy Bolton's budget which is even better."

They scoured the menu, commenting on items, and finally came to a decision just before the waitress arrived with their drinks and to take their order.

"Umm… could I please get the Chicken Caesar, but could I please get it with no anchovies," Gabriella asked politely.

"And I'll get the Porterhouse steak, medium, with the chips and salad," Troy requested.

"Were you right with those drinks for now?" the waitress asked.

Gabriella went to say yes but Troy interrupted. He'd watched her reading over the mocktail menu.

"Could you bring her one of these… Tropicana Twists?"

"Sure thing."

"How did you know I like tropical?" Gabriella asked suspiciously.

"Well you had tropical juice at my house. And you buy it at the cafeteria," Troy replied.

"Oh… so now you're stalking me?" she asked with a giggle.

"You wish."

Gabriella mocked shock, covering her mouth with her hand. "You uncovered my secret. I harbour a secret wish that you peep at me with binoculars."

Troy grinned.

"Troy… it's weird, in some ways I feel like I've known you forever. But then other times I just feel acutely aware that I know you very little at all…" Gabriella said very suddenly.

"Think I might lead a secret double life or something? Troy Bolton, Wildcat superstar by day – FBI Agent by night?" Troy suggested with a grin.

"Do you wear a black suit and carry a gun?" she asked with a laugh.

"Only if you like black suits and guns."

Gabriella smiled, but then turned serious. "But really… I was thinking more about the little things that I don't know. The things that you would normally learn about someone when first getting to know them. We kind of skipped that stage and launched straight into preparing for a musical!"

"Okay then. Consider me, for tonight, an open book. Ask me anything," Troy declared, then quickly adding, "Within reason of course. And I'll do my best to answer. But there's a condition – I get to ask you anything also."

"Fair enough. This is sounding like a very structured get to know you game by the way."

"Don't say that, I hate get to know you games," Troy complained. "Like the first day in every class at school – just because the teacher wants to get to know us, doesn't mean that I need to hear Chad tell us all AGAIN that if his house was burning down then he'd grab his basketball, basketball trophies and basketball uniform."

Gabriella laughed. "So what would your three items be then?"

Troy considered the question very carefully. "My family photos… my basketball which is signed by all of this season's Wildcats… and… I guess my external hard drive. It has a lot of stuff I've downloaded… movies and music and stuff."

Gabriella nodded. "Fair enough."

"And yourself, Miss Montez?"

"Easy. Also my family photos – which by the way are neatly and chronologically organised in albums. Plus my laptop – not because of movies and music, but I have poetry and short stories and essays and things like that. And this ring I have… it's like a sentimental thing I guess."

"Poetry and short stories huh? So it's more than math and singing with you?"

"Much, much more," Gabriella said slyly.

While waiting for their meals to come, they uncovered a lot of information about one another which was seemingly simple but somehow had yet to come up over the few weeks they'd known each other.

Troy learnt that Gabriella's middle name was Marie; her birthday was May 11; she used to have a cat named Zac; her favourite movie was Good Will Hunting; she enjoys soft rock and 'chick music' as Gabriella labelled it, her favourite artists being Snow Patrol and Sarah McLachlan; and she loves just about any meal with chicken and any dessert with chocolate.

Gabriella learnt that Troy's middle name was Alexander; his birthday was April 18; he likes cats but his mom is allergic to animal hair; he likes rock and his favourite bands are Coldplay and Matchbox 20; he likes comedy and when in the right mood, a decent action film; and he will eat pretty much anything but loves Italian food.

There was also exchange of information of a more random nature – discussing Troy's ability to juggle; Gabriella's fear of spiders; the process Troy undertook when learning to drive and obtain his license; Gabriella's inability to use manual transmission; their mutual desire to travel abroad.

The conversation had flowed freely and openly until Troy asked what he had thought was a perfectly logical and reasonable question.

"So where else have you lived? And, it's just you and your mom?"

Gabriella hesitated. It was a simple question. She knew that it would come, and most likely sooner rather than later. But behind the simplistic surface there were layers and layers of complexity and emotion which Gabriella generally avoided talking about. As she contemplated what her response would be, the waitress arrived with the food – impeccable timing allowing Gabriella to deflect the question and change the subject.

Troy wasn't stupid. He hung onto every word that Gabriella spoke. He paid attention to every nuance in her voice, every facial expression, every hand gesture. It was obvious that his question had bothered her, and he was acutely aware that she had purposely used the arrival of their meals as an opportunity to change the subject. Troy decided to leave it for the time being, with the full intention to bring it back up again later. He didn't see any reason why the question wasn't reasonable.

They each proceeded to eat their meals, with random small talk being made.

"You're like a vacuum cleaner," Gabriella said in awe.

Troy glanced up. "Huh?"

Gabriella motioned to his plate – which was nearly finished with; and then her own – which she had barely began to make a dent in.

"You think I'm a pig?" Troy asked, pretending to be insulted.

"Would you think less of me if I said it was yet another charming element to Troy?"

"There are other charming elements?" Troy asked, with a slight smile.

"Maybe," Gabriella admitted.

When the waitress returned to clear their plates away, she offered the dessert menu.

"Sure we'll have a look," Troy said casually.

"How can you eat anything else?" Gabriella asked incredulously. "Your meal was huge."

"I'm a growing, active boy," was Troy's simple explanation.

"Actually, nutritionists suggest that a decreased appetite is likely during the hours following exercise," Gabriella commented.

Troy shrugged. "Look at this. Silky smooth chocolate and caramel mousse served with home made ice cream."

Gabriella looked interested, but declined. "You order it if you like. I'm fine. I want to start trying to get fit."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Do you have any idea how ridiculous it is when girls like you start talking about dieting?"

"I did not say anything about dieting, I said I want to start trying to get fit. A part of that is eating healthily."

Troy ignored Gabriella and when the waitress returned, he ordered a serving of the mousse, adding, "Oh, and can we please have two spoons?"

"Troy…" Gabriella began to protest.

Troy held up his hand, silencing her. "So, tell me more about the decathlon last night."

Gabriella rolled her eyes but complied, filling him in on the details of the evening before as they waited for the dessert to arrive. Less than five minutes later, the dessert was brought over – with two spoons as per Troy's request.

Troy dipped a spoon into the dessert. He made a show out of it, slowly taking the mouthful and making "mmmm" sounds as he swallowed. He then licked the spoon. Gabriella watched wistfully. The dessert looked amazing. Troy picked up the second spoon and dipped it into the mousse. He held it up to her mouth.

"You know you want it," he teased.

"Troy! No, no I don't."

He was being stubborn, and persisted. "It's calling out to you Gabriella, it's saying 'eat me, eat me.'"

Gabriella giggled and relented, allowing Troy to feed her the dessert.

"That is sooo good," Gabriella said in awe. "Zeke should talk to whoever is in charge of desserts here to get advice."

"Thank you Troy for forcing the spoon into my mouth," Troy supplied with a grin.

After finishing dessert, Troy glanced at his watch.

"Okay I would love to sit here and talk to you all night long but they might get shitty at us for taking up the table. Besides, I do have other activities planned. So shall we move on?" Troy suggested.

Gabriella began to pull out her purse to contribute towards the bill. Troy furrowed his brow and shook his head. He smacked her hand away.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "What was that for?"

"Your money is worthless. I am taking you on a date. Therefore, I pay."

"You're taking a 21st century girl on a date in a contemporary world," Gabriella protested.

"Gabriella," Troy said in a warning tone.

She pouted a little but secretly she was finding herself liking Troy more and more. Who said that chivalry was dead? Troy was a perfect package with not only chivalry, but also sweetness, humour, generosity, passion, fun and not to mention that he was aesthetically pleasing.

Troy organised the payment of the bill and then led Gabriella by the hand back out to the car.

"So… what is this secret plan you have hatched up?" Gabriella asked as they walked through the car park.

Troy was nervous. He'd spent a long time coming up with the plan, perfecting the details. His gut told him that she would love the idea, but there was a constant nagging voice hanging over his shoulder saying – 'What a lame idea, she will be bored out of her brain.' Of course with the pressure to make the date absolutely perfect, Troy had listened more to the nagging voice than his gut.

"Okay… I've kind of been working on this idea for where I wanted to take you tonight. But, I will also understand if you think it's a silly idea so I would rather it if you were honest and told me so," Troy said earnestly. "Because I do have several back up plans organised. We could be boring and see a movie, or there's ten pin bowling, or miniature golf, or… okay I have a list around here somewhere..."

They'd just reached the car, and Troy pulled out the keys and opened the door, and began to rifle around in the glove box. Gabriella gently placed her hand on his elbow, pulling him out of the car.

"All of those ideas sound like fun but how about you tell me Plan A before pitching the others."

… **to be continued**

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE – Do you agree that it dragged a bit? Are you dying with anticipation to hear Troy's plan? Don't be because it's not THAT exciting it was just the best place to cut the massively long chapter in half to make it two manageable chapters. I have the next one pretty much ready to go, so it shouldn't be too long before it's up. Encouragement would be lovely. ;-)**


	13. Fallen For You

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. Nor do I have any association with the amazingly talented Delta Goodrem, whose lyrics I have utilised for my opening.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is part 2 of Gabriella and Troy's first date. If you're just tuning in, I suggest you at least read the previous chapter before reading this. **

----------

**Chapter 13 – Fallen For You**

_My head's full of thought  
Thoughts of you  
And I'm distracted so easy  
Thinking what to do  
So unsure, so unfamiliar  
Am I wrong to think that something could happen _

Will you fall for me  
I need to know, the way I'd like you to  
Baby, will you fall for me  
The way I've fallen for you 

_- 'Will You Fall For Me' by Delta Goodrem_

----------

**Previously...**

"Okay… I've kind of been working on this idea for where I wanted to take you tonight. But, I will also understand if you think it's a silly idea so I would rather it if you were honest and told me so," Troy said earnestly. "Because I do have several back up plans organised. We could be boring and see a movie, or there's ten pin bowling, or miniature golf, or… okay I have a list around here somewhere..."

They'd just reached the car, and Troy pulled out the keys and opened the door, and began to rifle around in the glove box. Gabriella gently placed her hand on his elbow, pulling him out of the car.

"All of those ideas sound like fun but how about you tell me Plan A before pitching the others."

----------

After being so comfortable in Gabriella's presence throughout their time at the restaurant, Troy suddenly reverted back to feeling nervous and vulnerable. Somehow, dinner followed by a movie didn't seem like it was good enough to make the impression that he wanted to make. He didn't want Gabriella to go home thinking that she'd had a nice evening. He wanted her to go home and be thinking that it was the most amazing night ever. Hence vesting so much time and energy into organising the activities for the second portion of the evening.

Troy took a deep breath and began his explanation.

"Okay, so, at Jason's party when we were talking, you were saying how you feel like you can't fit in because we all have a history together. That you're not a part of our stories and you don't know where the places are that we're talking about and stuff," Troy began.

"Yeah…" Gabriella said slowly, recalling the conversation.

"You've also said how it's been so crazy that you haven't had the chance to see a lot of Albuquerque," Troy continued.

"That's right…" Gabriella said, not sure where he was going.

"Now, our fine city here is probably nothing compared with some of the places you've lived but, I thought that I could take you on a guided tour of the area. Show you some of the sights. The places you should look out for – and where to avoid. And while doing it, I can show you the places that we hang out. So that when we're talking about going to the half pipe on a Sunday – you know where we're referring to. That kind of thing."

In Troy's head it had been a romantic and thoughtful idea. But now that he had said it out loud, he decided it sounded stupid and boring. Driving around looking at sights with an amateur tour guide – whoopee. Nevertheless, he pulled out the rough itinerary he had mapped out from the glove box and showed it to her.

"See, it's not too complex, I wouldn't want to bore you by taking you on some historical tour – there's a walking trail mapped out by the city council if you really want that kind of stuff. I thought we could keep it simple. Show you the main places around the East side and then head…"

Troy had been so busy rambling that he hadn't noticed that she'd began to smile as soon as he unveiled the master plan. He trailed off, realising that she hadn't said anything since he'd started to explain.

"You think it's stupid, don't you?" he asked, fearing the worst.

She shook her head. "Troy Bolton, you are so amazing," Gabriella proclaimed, kissing him on the cheek.

Gabriella was touched on so many levels. That he actually paid attention to her when she was talking for one. That he realised how she felt left out without her having to explicitly say it. That he had gone to such effort, and actually given thought as to what she might want to see and know about – looking over the list, she could see places like the science museum and the public library highlighted.

Troy was taken aback by her reaction. "I am? I mean…. Yeah I am," he quickly added, trying to sound cool.

"This is going to be awesome, you've put so much thought and effort into this, that alone is incredible. But I really, really love the idea. You know, I lived in Chicago for three months before I knew that there was a shopping complex just down the road from our house, because mom always drove in the other direction and she didn't like me going out on my own and she never had any time to show me around."

"Chicago huh? One of the elusive cities which has been graced with your presence?"

"One of many. So yes…. This is really brilliant."

"You're not just saying that?" Troy asked. "Because don't feel like…"

"I love it. I love it so much that I don't know why we're still standing around in this car park talking about it!" Gabriella insisted.

A weight lifted from Troy's shoulders. He had spent hours over the last couple of days sitting with a street map and a phone book and making plans. The truth was that he would have been crushed if Gabriella hadn't seemed happy with the idea. But her excitement seemed genuine, which was an excellent start.

"Right then. Your chariot awaits my lady," Troy said with a grin, gesturing for Gabriella to hop into the car. After settling into the driver's seat, Troy reached across into the glove box again and pulled out a CD sleeve, handing it to her. "Take your pick."

As Gabriella browsed through the selection of mostly burnt CDs, Troy began the drive back towards the East side of town. Gabriella quickly selected Yellowcard's latest album, slipping it into the CD player.

Troy began the tour from just outside of Gabriella's house.

"Night over so soon?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I'm giving you perspective Gabriella, so you know where stuff on the East Side is in relation to our neighbourhood," Troy informed her. "So, when you go back onto the main road from our neighbourhood and head right, you're going in the direction of the school. And along the way you pass the small shopping complex with the Food Town supermarket."

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, that's where mom and I have been buying our groceries."

"If you head left on the main road and drive for about five minutes, you'll come across somewhere that you will find much more interesting. The mall."

"There's a mall that close to my house? A real mall, with books and clothes and shoes and CDs?" Gabriella queried.

Troy nodded. "Yup."

"I don't believe you," Gabriella said stubbornly.

"I'll prove it to you in a bit minute. But while we're in this area, we'll do some drive bys of people who live around here."

Troy headed in the direction of his street, but then kept driving past the turn off. After passing two more streets, he slowed down as he approached the next street on the right.

"Chad lives up there, right down the end of the street," Troy informed her. He had kept driving slowly because at the next street on the left, he gestured. "And you might recall that Jason lives down there."

"What about Zeke?"

"He lives right near East High. He used to live in our neighbourhood but they moved last year."

Gabriella nodded, taking in the sights around them as they drove. "And to get to Taylor's I think you go down your street and turn left and then right or something or other," Gabriella mused. "I should have paid more attention when her mom was driving."

"It's okay you're a girl, you don't have sense of direction," Troy commented.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "Making sexist comments like that is NOT a way to impress me Troy."

Troy ignored her but grinned. He was approaching Albuquerque East Middle School. "So this is where pretty much everyone went to middle school," Troy announced as they pulled into the parking lot.

"Tell me a story," Gabriella requested.

"What, about the school?"

"Yes, something that happened here."

Troy thought. "Okay. It was sixth grade here when Chad and I met Jason and Zeke. We tried out for the junior basketball team and made it on of course."

"Of course."

"Well I could practically dribble a basketball before I could walk, thanks to dad. And Chad more or less lived at my house throughout fourth and fifth grade so dad taught him to play as well," Troy explained. "Anyway, Jason and Zeke went to the same elementary school but weren't really that close. But they both tried out for the basketball team. We were put into groups, with one of the senior players and then four of the guys trying out. Us four guys were put together. That's when we all became mates and it's been like that since then."

Troy next headed back to prove to Gabriella how close the Eastside Mall was to their neighbourhood.

"So is this where people from East High hang out?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded. "A lot of the time. There's a bigger mall, the Cottonwood Mall. But it's way on the other side of town. Before we got really serious about basketball and started playing all the time after school, us guys would come here… I guess once a week after school and chill out, sometimes on weekends as well."

"I want a story," Gabriella requested again with a smile.

"You're going to keep asking this, aren't you?"

"Well it's not enough to know that you hang out here. I need to be able to picture it to make it fun," Gabriella responded.

----------

After spending an hour on the East Side, Troy ventured to a few key places in other areas of the city, taking about an hour to drive around and show off the key elements. It was two hours of a whirlwind of a tour which Gabriella loved every single moment of. She loved spending time with Troy, getting to know depths of his past that could only be uncovered during a first date with this type of format.

She loved hearing him tell stories – he was a really good story teller, becoming animated and using wild gestures and voices where there were other people involved. Every stop of the tour, Gabriella would insist on being told a story. She found out about Troy's seventh birthday party at McDonald's where Chad cried because one of the other kids stole the toy from his Happy Meal. She was told about the movie marathon the boys had gone to with a group of people – primarily basketballers and cheerleaders – at the Cinemax during sophomore year. Troy showed her the park within bike riding distance of all the boys' houses where they would sometimes meet for their two on two games – which was also the same park where he broke his arm in fourth grade, jumping off the swing while in mid air and falling.

"I think you officially know everything there is to know about me," Troy remarked, as they headed back to the car after wandering around the business district for a while. "Maybe this was a bad idea – you know all about me and I know so very little about you."

Gabriella giggled. "You'll learn in time," she commented elusively.

"Anyway I have one final stop planned on Troy's Terrific Tour," he announced as they approached the final destination.

"That's a terrible name for the tour by the way," Gabriella teased.

"Shut up you."

Troy pulled into a parking lot, relatively busy with cars. Gabriella looked around, noting that Troy had brought them to another park. There was a pathway illuminated by street lights. Looking up ahead, she could see that there was some sort of sports field with flood lights up ahead – and drew the assumption that most of the cars were there for the stadium.

"Taking me to a soccer game or something?" Gabriella asked curiously as she got out of the car and peered ahead.

Troy shook his head, and gestured towards the footpath.

"There's no story for the stadium, that's not why we're here. It's actually the park you walk through to get to the stadium that I like. Uh… it isn't really a big thing in Albuquerque. We're miles away from the East Side, and the park I pointed out as we drove past on the way to get here is used more frequently. But uh… I guess I wanted to bring you here because it's important to me."

Gabriella didn't say anything, just waited for him to continue his story. Troy was staring at the ground, hands in his pockets, scuffing his feet along the ground as they walked.

"My dad used to bring me here when I was a kid, nearly every Sunday we'd come here. We'd just hang out, ride our bikes, play some basketball. Sometimes we would bring a picnic, sometimes we'd grab take out on our way."

Troy stopped as they approached the spot he was heading towards. There was a park bench overlooking a pond, where he went and sat down, gazing across the water. Gabriella sat next to him.

"Whenever I feel upset or stressed or anything… I guess it's like my secret science club garden at school. It's just somewhere that I ride my bike to and come to be alone and unwind… it has a calming affect, you know? The memories that I have here are all good. Make me feel better about the world."

He felt kind of silly bringing Gabriella here now. When he'd first decided to include it in his plan, it made a lot more sense. He really wanted Gabriella to know that she was special to him, that he felt really strongly about her despite the short time they'd known each other. And it was hard to express that in words so he thought that by showing her a place that was special to him, private to him, he could symbolise how important she was.

"Kinda silly huh?" Troy commented.

Gabriella shook her head. "Not at all. I uh… I guess I have a place like that. Well it's not somewhere I go because it's in Denver. But it's somewhere that I think about."

"Denver?" Troy queried.

"I grew up there."

"So she names another one of the elusive cities," Troy remarked carefully. "Maybe one day she will reveal the rest."

Gabriella glanced sideways at him. "Denver, Eldorado Springs, Cheyenne, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Chicago, Boston… and now, Albuquerque."

"And… just you and your mom?" he asked tentatively, repeating his earlier question.

Gabriella nodded. "Yes."

Troy didn't want to pry, but Gabriella sensed that he wasn't satisfied with her answer. She sighed.

"Look… it's kind of complicated. I'd rather not talk about it. I don't talk about my childhood very often, to anyone ever really. So it's kind of a… a fifth date revelation I guess. It's also something that I get upset about and I am having such a fantastic time with you tonight and I don't want to spoil that. So I'd rather leave it at that."

"That's okay, I understand," Troy said softly, gently squeezing her leg. "But…I would like to know your story one day. Whether it be on a fifth date or… just randomly…"

She reached across and took his hand. "I do want to tell you. I want you to understand me. And to understand me you need to know all the baggage. Just not tonight…. And so, let's move onto an earth shattering question that I simply must have the answer to… Troy Bolton, what is your favourite colour?" Gabriella asked very seriously, trying to drastically change the subject and lighten the mood.

"Blue," Troy replied solemnly, picking straight up on her diversion. "I realise I should respond with red and white but, it's blue."

"You wear a lot of blue," she observed. "It matches your eyes."

"You also wear a lot of blue," Troy noted.

"I thought boys didn't actually take note of the detail of girl's wardrobes," Gabriella commented with a giggle.

"Hey, and you accuse me of being sexist with what I said about you not having a sense of direction!" Troy teased.

It had been two weeks since he first kissed her. It felt like a lifetime ago. Since that night, he had desperately wanted to do it again. But the longer he had waited, the more the pressure had built up. It just like how the drawn up flirtation leading up to his asking her out had increased the nerves and pressure for the date to go well. The kiss was a part of that – they'd had so many moments since that first kiss where it could have happened, but just didn't. Not because they didn't want it to. But because of the pressure, and because of the fear.

Sitting with Gabriella at that moment, he had never felt closer to her. Troy couldn't believe just how close he felt to her. The feelings inside of him were indescribable. There was just something about her… Something that he got. Something that just clicked. He turned to look at her, eye contact being made and held. Suddenly, the fear and nerves and pressure didn't matter anymore. He knew that right there and then, holding hands, sitting in the beautiful scenery of the park with the starry skies above – all that mattered was Gabriella.

Gabriella gazed into Troy's eyes. She found them to be completely mesmerising. Not only because they were beautiful, but because they were so expressive. His eyes spoke a thousand words describing how he felt. In that moment, Gabriella felt such emotion for Troy, more emotion than she ever thought she could feel for anyone. It ran deep inside of her, into her fingertips and knees and stomach. Complete and utter infatuation and fascination with every last morsel that comprised Troy Bolton. At that moment, gazing into his eyes, Gabriella knew that he felt exactly the same way that she did. There was something unmistakable about his longing stare.

Troy turned to Gabriella and brought his hand up to lightly hold the side of her face. Leaning down, his nose gently nudged against hers, followed by the uniting of their lips in a short, soft kiss. It was sweet, chaste and romantic.

Almost a minute passed without talking. It wasn't uncomfortable silence though. Often the mark of a true connection is when you can just sit in one another's presence, with no words necessary for the moment to be complete. Gabriella gazed into his eyes, still feeling dazed from the kiss. She couldn't help but wonder if every kiss from Troy was going to make her feel tingly and warm inside like she was at that moment. Troy's hand was still on the side of Gabriella's face, gently caressing. He was drinking in her beauty, her perfect skin, her soulful eyes, her amazing smile.

Finally, Troy broke the silence.

"It's getting late… we should get back to the car," Troy said regretfully.

They began the walk back along the pathway towards the parking lot. Gabriella glanced down and nudged her hand over towards his, their pinkies grazing ever so slightly. Troy looked at Gabriella, eyes meeting and smiles forming as he took her hand, lacing fingers together.

----------

Troy walked Gabriella to her door, holding her hand as they walked up the drive way. They stopped at the door step, turning to one another.

"Thank you so, so much for tonight Troy, I had such a fantastic time," Gabriella said. "Did you… did you have a good time?"

"I think we've moved beyond finding it uncomfortable to admit just how much we enjoy each other's company, don't you think?" Troy asked, a smile toying on his lips. "I… tonight was so incredibly amazing Gabriella. You're so special and… and I really like you. Really really really like you. I hope you know that."

Gabriella blushed. "Well I'd suspected but it's always good to have it confirmed. And uh… the feeling is mutual. I kind of wish tonight could just keep going on forever."

"Control time… okay… I'll get right on that," Troy said cheekily.

"If only."

"Well maybe I can't make tonight go on forever. But as for next time, maybe we can check out the bowling centre. I haven't been there in a while but from the looks of it tonight it seems like a pretty happening place. Or, I could take you up the top of the Plaza so you can see the view of the whole city. Or maybe…"

"Next time?" Gabriella interrupted him to ask, a smile playing on her lips.

"Uh… yeah… if you would like there to be a next time, that is?" Troy asked hopefully.

"I do believe I would like there to be a next time… and maybe even a time after that," Gabriella added.

This time there was no hesitation as they simultaneously came together for a soft kiss. This time, Troy's lips lingered against Gabriella's a little longer. They broke apart, hands still entwined.

"I should go inside. Mom is probably waiting up for me. Spying," Gabriella said regretfully.

"And dad probably is waiting up to make sure his car is safe and sound."

"Thank you again Troy, tonight was amazing."

"I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay."

They parted and Troy flashed Gabriella one last million dollar smile before turning and heading down the path back to his car. Gabriella waited until he was inside the car and waved as he pulled away.

Her heart was pounding as she quietly ascended the staircase. Her lips were tingling, still able to feel his warms lips against hers. Gabriella changed into her pyjamas, brushed her teeth, and snuggled into bed, the whole time thinking about the brilliance that was Troy, reliving the kiss over and over in her head.

Just as she was snuggled into bed, her cell phone sounded with the text message tone. She picked it up and smiled seeing the recipient.

"Gabriella… just wanted 2 say i had a great time, thanks heaps. sweet dreams. –Troy xo."

She giggled and replied. "Night Wildcat, sleep tight. Gabriella xo"

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE – PLEASE READ – One of the reviews left suggested that maybe my story would be better off rated T than as an M. I'm new to this site and have heard all sorts of stories about people having stories removed and what not if they are rated inappropriately. I don't want to give plot away but assuming that the chapters about the party at Jason's remain the most 'M' rated, do you guys think it would be more appropriate if I changed the rating to T? The guidelines for T indicate minor coarse language and adult themes… so would that mean that "shit" would be fine but "f-ck" would not? And in terms of sexual references, where do you think the line is drawn between T and M rated? **

**ALSO **

**I just wanted to quickly mention my research process for writing about this date. I actually did look up a bit about the Albuquerque region. I don't live in Albuquerque, I don't live in the United States. I got a very general idea about how the town is laid out and found some touristy locations and stuff, with the intention of incorporating but I could. However it's hard to write about what you haven't seen. So I took significant creative liberties with descriptions and locations. After all HSM isn't even filmed in New Mexico; so I decided to give myself the creative license to make stuff up. It's not really important where they're going – what's important is the closeness that is being forged through Gabriella understanding the layers to Troy.**

**Would love to hear from y'all… **


	14. Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE – Thank you so much to all of the lovely feedback I've been getting, it is just so amazingly touching to have people supporting my work. Thank you to broadwaybaby who caused my reflection upon the appropriate rating for this story; and to those who gave their advice. It was greatly appreciated. I didn't get as many responses as I would have liked so if anybody else has a contribution please feel free to comment. (if you require reminding of what I'm referring to, see the end of story AN in Ch 13)**

**I want to acknowledge now that this chapter is… it's a bit crap but it's necessary. It may appear fillerish but it's necessary because I need to demonstrate that despite the blossoming feelings, that every day life continues. That they still have to deal with the monotony of every day life. That the musical still is being prepared, that the decathlon is still going on, they still have classes and assignments and other people and life in general to contend with. I also wanted to just wrap up some little bits I've left dangling from earlier in the story. **

**Also – to troyellaisbomb – you asked for some gang hanging out time a while ago. I've got something planned coming up in… okay I think it's like chapter 18/19ish. So I've tried to incorporate a little bit of gang stuff here to hold you over :-) **

----------

**HERE WITH YOU**

**Chapter 14 – Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You**

"_I can't take my eyes off of you  
I know you feel the same way too, yeah  
I can't take my eyes off of you  
All it took, was one look  
For a dream come true."_

'_I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You' – by the gang, you know who they are_

----------

Troy awoke on Monday morning to a loud banging on his door. It creaked open.

"Wake up lazy bones," Jack called cheerily.

Jack had always been an early riser, something which Troy had not inherited.

"I'm going in early so if you want a lift, you'll need to be ready soon," Jack added.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm up," Troy mumbled.

"Twenty minutes Troy," his dad said, before closing the door again.

Troy groaned and sat up, yawning, He glanced over at his bedside table, looking at the clock. Sitting there was his script for Twinkle Towne. Suddenly, going to school was appealing. School meant home room. It also meant science class, and drama class. And then rehearsals. All of which featured the girl who had somehow worked her way into Troy's heart.

Whereas many would label Troy as being the school stud, it was Chad who was the king of the revolving girlfriends. But with Chad it was never serious, it was about going to the movies for a pash in the back row rather than about anything more meaningful. Chad never talked about his girlfriends in the way that Troy was feeling about Gabriella, and he told Troy pretty much everything – Troy knew all of the layers to Chad Danforth that no one would suspect existed. That was probably why it had come so unexpectedly when Troy's feelings for Gabriella developed so quickly and so deeply. 16 year olds were not supposed to feel like this, were they?

---

Gabriella was still floating on air on Monday, after spending her entire Sunday daydreaming about the one and only Troy Bolton. She had always been a little afraid of the whole boys and dating scene. If she had known how amazing dating could be, then she never would have been so apprehensive about it. Then again, it probably was more about the guy the date was with than the date itself. At one of her old schools, Gabriella had been friends with a girl who was in a serious relationship. Gabriella had always been sceptical as to how they could be so young, and yet her friend felt so seriously about this guy. Now, she finally understood. It wasn't just that Troy was funny, or nice, or so amazingly hot – although all of those things were of course appreciated. It was this deeper feeling inside, something that Gabriella felt not only in her head, but in the pit of her stomach and her trembling fingertips and wobbling knees and her pounding heart.

----------

They came from opposite directions in the hallway, heading towards homeroom. Eyes met from far away, smiles forming as they maintained the gaze and closed in the gap. They met just outside the classroom, waiting by the door.

"Morning," Troy greeted her.

"Good morning," Gabriella responded simply.

It was Troy's natural instinct in that moment to kiss her. However he was very aware of the East High students loitering in the corridors and therefore decided on a safer option. Troy leaned over to envelope Gabriella in a tight hug.

"I was going to do something else but knowing our luck Miss Darbus would come round the corner and write us up for a public display of affection," Troy whispered in her ear.

Gabriella giggled as they pulled apart. "I like Troy hug, Troy hug is good."

"Well then, maybe I will have to hug you more often then. Whenever I want to do something else you will receive a hug," Troy proclaimed.

"So… only ever hugs then? Never the other?" Gabriella asked, pretending to pout.

"Well… we'll see," Troy said flippantly.

"Yo Bolton," Chad called, rounding the corner of the corridor, Zeke and Jason in tow. "And hello, Gabriella."

The boys all exchanged looks. The grapevine within their circle was very efficient. Troy and Chad had hung out on Sunday afternoon, providing opportunity for Troy to provide details of the prior evenings activities. Chad subsequently passed the information onto the others.

"Morning Chad," Gabriella said, a little shyly. She was all right with all the boys when she had the backup of Taylor but she still found it a little unnerving being surrounded by all of them at once.

"You guys coming in?" Zeke asked, motioning towards the classroom.

"Yeah give us a minute," Troy replied.

The boys filed into the room, leaving Gabriella and Troy outside. He turned back to her, about to speak but suddenly felt rather exposed by other students entering the room, with just minutes until the first bell would sound. He paused and pulled Gabriella to the side a little, affording them as much privacy as was going to be allowed just minutes before the bell in a crowded corridor. Gabriella waited expectantly.

"I was going to wait to ask but I figured that I would just get it over with than go through the agony of last week where I would go to ask and then chicken out and then nearly ask again. So uh… this Saturday… do you want to go out again?" Troy asked hopefully.

"I can't," Gabriella said simply, not thinking.

He looked a little alarmed, and Gabriella realised how her response must have sounded.

"Not that I don't want to! I have this dinner thing with my mom and some people from her company," she explained hastily.

Troy breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh… that's fair enough."

"Uh… what about Friday night, after rehearsal?" Gabriella suggested hopefully.

"Friday works. Any day works. Hell, I say let's ditch class and go out right now!"

The bell rang, and Gabriella giggled. "Sorry, ditching will not be occurring. Come on, time to go in."

----------

Both Troy and Gabriella had internally questioned whether their date would make their interactions at school uncomfortable. Whether the nerves and awkwardness of the latter part of the previous week would continue to be prevalent.

The opposite occurred. They had become more comfortable around one another. They were also more comfortable with the notion that they had feelings for the other one.

The flirtations were knowing, yet subtle. Glances across the room during homeroom. Brushes of the hand while conducting a science experiments. Holding hands under the table at lunch time. Troy left notes in Gabriella's locker when he didn't have class with her. They hugged no less than thirteen times on Monday alone, with Troy keeping true to his word – each and every time he felt the urge to kiss her, he would hug her instead. Such behaviour became infused into the otherwise monotonous school routine they had each fallen into.

"We need to start meeting again regularly for the decathlon Gabriella," Taylor informed her friend during Monday lunch at the cafeteria. "The next round is next Friday, remember?"

Taylor glanced in the direction of Troy. The inference was that Gabriella was so wrapped up in her world with Troy that she could very well have forgotten.

"Yes I do remember," Gabriella said testily, picking up on her friend's implication. "I know I've been busy, but you knew from the start that having me on the team was going to be a pain if things with the musical worked out. Well, they worked out."

"Well… if you're okay with not having any afternoon after school free… we make Tuesday and Thursday afternoon regular meeting times," Taylor suggested. "And at lunch a couple of days. I was also thinking we could meet for a few hours this Saturday morning."

Gabriella sighed. "I guess."

"Gabriella, we're doing this for you, changing our practice schedule. At least put up a facade of being grateful."

"I am grateful. I truly am. I'm just stressed is all. But that sounds fine. Have you talked to any of the others about it?"

Taylor shook her head. "Look there's Martha… hey Martha!" Taylor called out.

Martha was heading from the food line with her tray towards the kids she generally hung out with. She turned around, hearing Taylor's call. Taylor beckoned for her to come over. Martha hesitated. She had been semi friends with Taylor for years, and really liked Gabriella. But the truth was that she was a little intimidated by the basketball guys that they sat with. Still, she headed over to talk to the girls.

"We need to talk," Taylor declared

"We do?" Martha said warily.

"Yes. So sit," Taylor said, motioning to the gap next to her.

Martha glanced towards the boys who were in the midst of their own conversation. Troy had been keeping an ear on the conversation between Gabriella and Taylor – give that everything that Gabriella said or did was of high importance to him. He noticed that Martha looked a little uncomfortable at the prospect of joining them.

"Hi Martha," Troy said cheerfully. He'd probably had no more than six conversations with the girl in the five or so years they had attended the same school.

"Hey Troy," Martha responded.

"Welcome to the madhouse. Take a seat, the more the merrier."

Gabriella squeezed Troy's hand, silently communicating her gratefulness to him for making the effort to include her.

"Are you in for the next decathlon? Freddie has some wedding or something or other," Taylor asked.

Martha nodded. "Sure, why not?"

"Excellent. So Miss Montez here has a rather hectic schedule…"

"I can imagine," Martha said sympathetically, shooting Gabriella a smile.

"So our practice schedule is going to be a little all over the place."

Martha pulled out her diary. "Okay hit me."

"Tuesday and Thursday after school, probably for two, two and a half hours," Taylor began. "Then… hmm… Wednesday and Friday lunch this week. We'll see how the preparation is going before setting down next weeks lunch time schedule. And I was thinking that if everyone was okay with it, I'd like to get together this Saturday, say around 10?"

"Sorry," Gabriella said apologetically. "I feel bad… it's because of me that we're going to do that."

Martha shook her head. "It's fine Gabriella, really. I actually prefer this. Didn't you guys used to meet every day after school? I have dance class on Monday and Wednesday night so that wouldn't have worked for me anyway."

---------

The majority of Monday's Twinkle Towne rehearsal was musically focused. Kelsi went through the final duet that she hadn't been through with Troy and Gabriella, as well the whole cast closing number. The music room was unavailable that afternoon due to an extra band practice. So the duet was being rehearsed using the piano in the auditorium. Both Gabriella and Troy were a little perturbed – feeling rather vulnerable having their very first practice for a song being held in the midst of the rest of the rehearsal, with props and costumes being worked on, as well as dances being choreographed and lines rehearsed.

Gabriella gripped to Troy's hand, seeking comfort from his touch. He smiled at her soothingly. They sat on stools near the piano, hands entwined as they proceeded to go through the lyrics.

"_Yeah, we got a good thing going on  
Oh, right here is right where we belong  
You never really know what you might find  
Now all I see is you and I  
You're everything I never knew  
That I've been looking for."_

---------

Gabriella and Taylor arrived at their usual table on Tuesday to be greeted by Zeke, Jason and Chad in the middle of a laughing fit. Chad had some computer print outs in front of him.

"What's so funny?" Gabriella asked, sitting down on the edge of the bench beside Jason.

"We printed these fucking hilarious jokes during business education," Jason informed the girls.

Taylor took a seat across from Gabriella and next to Chad, peering at the page.

"Wow, there are whole sentences on that page Chad, how ever are you managing to read those?" Taylor queried.

Chad glared at her witheringly.

"Read another one," Zeke urged Chad.

Chad scanned the page. "Okay, here's one. Bill worked in a pickle factory. He had been employed there for a number of years when he came home one day to confess to his wife that he had a terrible compulsion. He had an urge to stick his dick into the pickle slicer. His wife suggested that he should see a sex therapist to talk about it, but Bill said he would be too embarrassed. He vowed to overcome the compulsion on his own. One day a few weeks later, Bill came home. His wife could see at once that something was seriously wrong.

'What's wrong, Bill?' she asked.  
'Do you remember that I told you how I had this tremendous urge to put my dick into the pickle slicer?'  
'Oh, Bill, you didn't.'  
'Yes, I did.'  
'My God, Bill, what happened?'  
'I got fired.'  
'No, Bill. I mean, what happened with the pickle slicer?'  
'Oh...she got fired too.'"

The boys all burst into hysterical laughter.

Gabriella and Taylor however remained silent, merely looking at one another and silently communicating their mutual disbelief that the boys found the joke to be so hilarious.

"Good to know you find infidelity such a hilarious concept," Taylor remarked.

"Gabriella!!!" a voice called from behind.

Gabriella stood and turned around to see Troy sprinting into the cafeteria. She stepped towards him, feeling rather alarmed. Troy jumped over some backpacks blocking the most direct pathway and ran right to Gabriella. He picked her up and spun her around.

"Troy!" Gabriella giggled. "What happened to you? Did you take something?"

Troy set her down, and pulled his backpack around and proceeded to rifle through the contents.

"No I did not take anything. Look at this," he declared, pulling out a bunch of papers.

Gabriella looked over what Troy had presented to her. "Your algebra assignment? The one I helped you with?"

Troy nodded. "Go to the results page."

She flipped through to the final page. "You got an A-!" Gabriella gasped, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Thanks to you," he murmured into her ear.

"How nauseatingly cute," Chad remarked loudly.

"Nauseatingly… that's a big word for you Chad," Taylor commented.

"What does nauseatingly mean?" Jason asked.

----------

The scholastic decathlon team was meeting after school on Tuesday. Troy had his last class of the day just down the hall from Gabriella, and he waited for her outside of her classroom to walk her over to the science block where she was meeting her the scholastic decathlon team for their after school meeting.

"Hey!" Gabriella said in surprise when she ran into Troy just outside the room.

"Care for an escort to your meeting?" he asked.

Gabriella smiled. "Sure. I'm just going to my locker first."

They headed down the hallway in the direction of Gabriella's locker.

"Guess what I'm doing this afternoon?" Troy asked.

"Playing basketball?" Gabriella asked wryly.

Troy shook his head. "Nope."

"Playstation at Chad's?"

Troy shook his head. "Way off. You'll never get it."

"If I'll never get it then why don't you just tell me?"

"Because this game is fun," Troy said with a grin.

Gabriella continued to guess, questioning whether he was rehearsing for the musical with Kelsi, going to the mall, skating with the boys. They reached her locker when Gabriella insisted he tell her.

"I'm going to the library to do research for my geography project," Troy announced.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "Oh really?"

"Yup. I've nearly finished my research and started a draft and realised I needed a bit more information about something. So to the library I go."

"I'm impressed," Gabriella said, dumping her calculus textbook into the locker and retrieving another three books in its place.

"I suddenly feel motivated to study. If I can get an A- in a math assignment, a subject which is not my strength, I should be able to do really well in my other subjects!" Troy explained as they headed back in the direction of the science labs.

"All you needed was a kick up the backside," Gabriella said with a smile.

"Well, feel free to kick me up the backside whenever you feel necessary," Troy said cutely.

Gabriella laughed. "I was referring to your teacher actually, but I'll take that offer up."

"Anyway, are you being picked up after your meeting or are you walking home?"

"Tay and I were going to walk together."

"Do you want girl time, or could I join you?" Troy asked, as they approached the science lab.

"I think joining us would be permissible. We'll swing by the library when we're done."

"Excellent."

"Well this is me," Gabriella said, motioning towards the room. The other kids in the team were already inside. "I wish you happy hours of reading and learning."

"Happy hours? Don't push it."

She grinned and took one final glance at him before entering the room.

Troy watched after her longingly, and then turned to head in the direction of the library. As he turned from one corridor into another, he literally ran into someone.

"Oh my God I'm so…." He looked up, seeing who he had ran into. It was Jacqui. "… sorry," he finished, a little uncomfortable.

They hadn't spoken since the incident at Jason's party.

"Umm… hello Troy," Jacqui said, clearly uncomfortable.

"Jacqui," Troy greeted her warily. "Haven't talked to you since…"

"Yeah. I was avoiding you," she said bluntly.

"Figured as much."

"Look uh… since we're talking. I actually wanted to thank you."

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Thank me? For what?"

"For saying no. I was wasted and depressed… and you could have gone along with it and then I would have hated myself. So thanks for saying no."

Troy shrugged. "Don't make me out to be all hero. Truth is, half the reason I said no was because you were wasted but the other half was because, well, I sort of like someone else so didn't want to jeopardise that."

"I heard that you and that Gabriella girl were seeing each other," Jacqui commented. "That's awesome. I mean I haven't really talked to her but she seems like a nice girl."

"Seeing each other probably isn't the term… we've been out once."

"Well whatever. Anyway… I should get going."

"See you Jacqui."

----------

The next morning the gang met out the front of the school and headed into homeroom together to find Coach Bolton seated at the teachers desk at the front of the room.

"Coach, sup?" Chad greeted Mr Bolton.

"What are you doing here?" Troy asked, annoyed by his fathers presence.

After Troy's very first freshman physical education class with his dad as his teacher, he went home and set down ground rules with his father in regards to their relationship at school. Teacher student. Coach basketball player. Full stop. For the most part, it worked fine. But occasionally, he would pop up places unexpectedly – like homeroom to substitute.

"Darbus has the flu," Jack informed them.

"Maybe rehearsal will be called off," Troy speculated hopefully.

Without the theatrics Miss Darbus infused into reading the morning announcements, Coach Bolton had finished the logistical motions of homeroom half way through the allocated time.

"Well you can all just talk quietly amongst yourselves until first period," Coach Bolton announced.

Sharpay raised her hand.

"Yes, Sharpay?"

"Coach Bolton, may I make a brief announcement?" Sharpay asked sweetly.

"Uh… I suppose."

"I just wanted to inform those of you who are involved with the winter musical that rehearsal will go ahead as usual this afternoon. Per drama club policy, in the absence of our mentor, being Miss Darbus, the co-presidents of the drama club will facilitate proceedings."

Troy's eyes widened, realising the implication. Sharpay looked very pointedly at Troy, and then at Gabriella.

"So don't be late."

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I KNOW the bit of the song I included in the fic is Ashley and Lucas's part. But I love that part… and in my story, it's in the musical, and it's a Troy and Gabriella song. Otay:-) lol. **

**A Preview – Chapter 15**

_Troy managed to keep a straight face as he and Gabriella 'brred' but with Gabriella's very first 'mah!' Troy burst into laughter. _

"_Troy!" Gabriella hissed, glancing at Sharpay. _

_Fortunately she had not noticed his outburst, masked by the sound of their fellow students following the exercise._

"_I'm sorry but this is stupid," Troy whispered to Gabriella._


	15. Spirit Fingers

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. Additionally I would like to acknowledge that I have no association with the film Bring It On which I have directly quoted and also made reference to. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

**To kathyt222 (who asked if I have any idea how long this will be):**

**I've mapped out the rest of this story chapter by chapter so I know fairly precisely how long it will be. Without naming a figure (for fear people will think 'holy crap dude I have to keep reading this garbage for THAT long!') I would say a good answer is ****freaking long****. The more specific answer is - I'm nearly halfway. Obviously the build here is fairly slow – we're at Chapter 14 and it's not even 3 weeks after HSM 1 ends. I worry that people perceive that it's dragging but it is what my muse wants me to write, and I follow my muse. Here With You is kind of like part 1 in a whole verse of stories I have in my brain, which span from this point until way into the future... I go overseas in about nine weeks so realistically, I'll finish Here With You and maybe one other part of that verse and the rest, who knows if it will ever happen! Besides, once HSM3 comes out, it will probably render the stories in my brain as being alternate universe. Anyway, this part within the whole verse goes up until shortly after the winter musical… so right now they have about a month until the show (in my timeline). I do plan to speed the build a bit but nevertheless – yeah, I think ****freaking long**** summarises it pretty well.**

----------

**Chapter 15 – Spirit Fingers**

'_Screw this. I did NOT sign on for spirit fingers!' – Missy_

'_Come on! The spirit fingers are great!' – Torrance_

'_Yeah, whatever.' – Missy_

_- Excerpt from the film 'Bring It On'_

----------

Sharpay and Ryan sat in the auditorium at lunch time. Sharpay had a pink notepad out, as well as a pink metallic gel pen which had a pink feathered stem.

"So here is my list of things we will be covering this afternoon to make sure that these amateurs don't make Twinkle Town a complete farce," Sharpay announced to her brother.

Ryan took the list from her hand, raising his eyebrows.

"Shar, we've got less than two hours. Do you really think that we're going to be able to choreograph four dances in that time? And I'm not sure that Kelsi is going to be happy when you ask her to speed up the tempo of the finale," Ryan pointed out.

"I don't care if Kelsi isn't happy. This isn't her show. This is the drama club's show. And I am president of the drama club so what I say goes!"

"Co-president," Ryan reminded her.

"Whatever."

"You know Miss Darbus faxed through a list of things that she wanted us to work on with them…" Ryan began to say.

"I do know that, and I am sure we will be able to accomplish all of that as well," Sharpay said confidently.

"You're the one who keeps saying we're working with 'amateurs'. You and I might be able to handle it, but do you really think that they will?"

"If they can't keep up then that just proves that they shouldn't be in the production."

----------

After school, Troy and Gabriella headed warily towards the auditorium. Fortunately, during drama class they were given a substitute teacher from the drama department who took them through curriculum related work. Meaning that Sharpay had not been provided a window of opportunity to take over the class. However the moment that Troy and Gabriella entered through the auditorium door, it was evident that Sharpay was now very much so in charge. She was on stage, microphone in hand, calling out commands.

"Hurry up, we don't have all day," she said impatiently. "All cast and crew to the stage immediately. All cast and crew."

A crowd was forming on stage. Normally they broke into their requisite groups and Miss Darbus would come around to provide instructions individually. Troy led Gabriella by the hand to the very back of the crowd of students, and stood behind the tallest person he could find.

"I don't think we can hide from Sharpay," Gabriella pointed out to him, amused by his tactic.

"We can always try," Troy responded grimly.

Once Sharpay was satisfied that everyone was present, she began her welcome speech. Or rather, her unwelcome speech. Ryan also stood facing the students, however to the side and a few steps behind.

"As I am sure you are all aware, Miss Darbus is not present today; and Miss Simmons from the dance department does not work with us during our Wednesday rehearsals. This leaves me in charge…"

Ryan cleared his throat.

"Me _and Ryan_ in charge," Sharpay corrected herself, rolling her eyes. "You will do what I…. we… tell you to do. Failure to comply with our direction will be reported to Miss Darbus upon her return to school, which I am told will be tomorrow. Any questions?"

The group was silent.

"Backstage crew, you are dismissed from the stage and for now you are to continue with your projects as per normal. I will be around shortly with further instruction. As for the cast, we are going to go through some simple vocal exercises," Sharpay announced. "You are required to break into pairs for this warm up. Ryan and I will demonstrate, and then you will follow along with us."

Troy immediately grabbed Gabriella's hand. She rolled her eyes. Like she was going to go with anyone else.

Sharpay glanced at Ryan and he stepped forward, and turned to face his sister. In perfect timing, like they warmed up before every performance, they demonstrated the vocal exercise.

"Brrrr, brrr, brrr. Mah! Mah! Mah! Eeeh, ooww, eeehh, owww."

Troy's eyes widened and he began to snicker. He wasn't the only one who reacted; there were other stifled giggles throughout the room.

"Is there a problem over there?" Sharpay asked in a school teacherish tone, looking directly at Troy.

Gabriella had been right. There was no hiding from Sharpay.

"Not at all," Troy said, managing to keep a straight face.

"Okay then, this time, you are all to follow along with me and Ryan. 1, 2 3, go."

Troy managed to keep a straight face as he and Gabriella 'brred' but with Gabriella's very first 'mah!' Troy burst into laughter.

"Troy!" Gabriella hissed, glancing at Sharpay.

Fortunately she had not noticed his outburst, masked by the sound of their fellow students following the exercise.

"I'm sorry but this is stupid," Troy whispered to Gabriella.

"Give Sharpay a chance at least."

Troy rolled his eyes. Gabriella was many things. She was smart, she was cute, she was passionate, she was funny. But she was also nice. And sometimes, too nice for her own good. She had this longing to try to see the best in people. An admiral quality in many situations. However Troy's years of experience dealing with Sharpay Evans told him that Gabriella was wasting her time by trying to see the good within the ice queen. Especially when it came to Sharpay and anything to do with her precious drama production.

Gabriella noticed his trepidation, but it was important to her that they remained open minded about the techniques that Sharpay and Ryan were going to introduce. The truth was that Gabriella felt a little guilty about coming in and kind of stealing Sharpay's place as East High's drama production queen. She didn't appreciate the way Sharpay had treated her since arriving at the school, but Gabriella had the ability to empathise and put herself in Sharpay's shoes.

"For me Troy… give her a chance for me," Gabriella requested, giving him a cute smile.

Troy grumbled under his breath. "For you Gabriella. Not for Sharpay. But for you."

----------

Half an hour later, Troy was standing centre stage in the auditorium. In front of him was a microphone stand. Behind him stood three dancers from the show; Becky, Pam and Nikki. They had their elbows linked and were kicking from side to side, can can style. His left hand was out in front of him, pointing out to the audience. His right hand was in the air, fingers wiggling hesitantly.

"Spirit fingers Troy! Don't you know what spirit fingers are?" Sharpay snapped condescendingly. "Haven't you seen _Bring It On_?"

Troy gritted his teeth. His life had been so simple. He came to school, went to class, he played basketball, he hung out with the guys and he came home. Now he was on stage under the direction of Sharpay, being taught the art of spirit fingers.

He'd been open minded, just like Gabriella had requested. But there was a line.

The line was drawn at spirit fingers.

"This is fucking ridiculous Sharpay!" Troy snapped.

"Ex-_cuse_ me?"

"This is a ballad! Arnold is depressed! His dog just died and then his girlfriend dumped him! Spirit fingers are fucking ridiculous here! Arnold has no spirit that's the point of the song!"

"I don't appreciate you swearing at me Troy."

Gabriella was watching from the front row, waiting patiently for Troy so they could rehearse some of their lines together. She could see Troy's eyes darkening as he became more and more frustrated with Sharpay. She couldn't help but feel a little responsible, given that he had only tolerated Sharpay's ridiculous instruction so far because she had asked him too. Gabriella stood from her place, deciding to intervene.

"Uh Sharpay, do you think you should be changing choreography without Miss Darbus's approval?" Gabriella asked tentatively. "Miss Simmons started choreographing Troy's ballad last Friday so…"

"Did I ask for your input?" Sharpay asked condescendingly, interrupting Gabriella.

"Well no, but…"

"Ryan and I continue to be co-presidents of the drama club. The drama club being the body responsible for this production. Therefore we hold creative authority over many aspects of the production. So if I think that something needs to be altered then I would expect my input to be taken seriously!" Sharpay declared.

Ryan was working with some of the backstage hands in the wings, continuing with the development of props. He overheard Gabriella's tentative question and turned around to observe the choreography which Sharpay was demonstrating and Troy attempting to emulate - but failing miserably. Ryan rolled his eyes. He personally liked things to be very theatrical and dramatic. But the way that Twinkle Towne was being built was more low key. The story was more about the romance, than on the tap dancing show tunes. Sharpay's suggested choreography – whereas appropriate for a show that he and Sharpay would put together – was not particularly fitting for the mood of the song.

"Hey Shar," Ryan said, intervening. "I think Miss Darbus said something on Monday about how she really wanted your input into the costumes for the opening number. She wanted the home economics girls to add more sequins… do you think you could go check it out?"

Sharpay preened at the notion that Miss Darbus had wanted her to have control over something, and headed back stage. She didn't realise that Ryan was really trying to divert her. But Ryan's quick grin at Troy and Gabriella made them realise what it was all about.

Gabriella smiled at Ryan gratefully. "Thanks."

"Yeah… I don't think that was going to work," Troy added.

Ryan shrugged his shoulders. "For you it won't, anyway. Miss Darbus actually sent this fax through with what she wanted us to go over with you guys. It says that they started to choreograph Bop to the Top last Friday and you guys were having a bit of trouble with it."

Gabriella and Troy nodded emphatically. "It's very… showy," Gabriella said delicately.

"I don't even know the lyrics yet, let alone remember dance steps for it," Troy added.

Ryan grinned. "It's my favourite number in the show actually. Let's go over what's been choreographed so far."

"Girls, why don't you go and help out backstage with the costume fittings," Ryan suggested to the now defunct back up dancers.

Ryan proceeded to work with Troy and Gabriella to recall the half which had been choreographed.

"Okay umm… Troy you're like half a beat behind in your moves. It's only a tiny bit but it will look a lot better if you just are in front of the beat a little more. Gabriella – you'll find that as you practice more, you'll find it easier to sing and dance at the same time. It's all fitness related really."

"Makes sense that Troy can manage to do it then," Gabriella commented.

"Yeah, when I know the lyric that is," Troy pointed out.

"Just keep practicing. Try not dancing so full out, it won't hurt to pull back a little at least for now. And get Kelsi to work with you on some breathing exercises, that will also help."

"Thanks Ryan," Gabriella said gratefully.

"No worries. Okay, the other thing that Miss Darbus really wanted was for you guys to get the lyric part for your solo part of the finale down pat. So I'll go find Kelsi and bring her out to work with you."

Gabriella watched as Ryan headed backstage. Along the way he stopped to help out one of the prop guys who had a question.

"He knows his stuff," Gabriella commented.

"Well with the number of productions they've been in, you'd hope they would know their stuff," Troy responded.

----------

The remainder of the rehearsal was spent with Kelsi working on the finale, sitting around the piano. Kelsi couldn't help but watch wistfully as Troy and Gabriella rehearsed. It was like they'd been singing together for years.

"You guys are so cute," she said with a sigh, after they finished the verse.

"Cute?" Troy asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Yes. I don't think you understand how good you guys are together. When you sing… I feel the lyrics. You ARE the lyrics. It's like… it's like you belong together."

Kelsi's reference was in a musical sense. However as Troy and Gabriella glanced shyly at one another, making eye contact for a brief moment, her words hit them in a place that was beyond a musical context. The moment was interrupted by Sharpay's arrival.

"That didn't work," Sharpay announced. "I was listening. I need you to speed up the tempo Kelsi. You've got half an hour until the end of rehearsal, by then you should have it done."

Sharpay spun on her heels and stalked away, not allowing Kelsi the chance to respond.

"There is nothing wrong with the tempo!" Kelsi complained. "Why does she feel the need to make everything peppy?"

"Say no!" Troy insisted. "I keep telling you Kels, this is your show, not Sharpay's."

"She is drama club president."

"Which allows her to give you suggestion perhaps, but not to order you around," Gabriella said gently.

"Maybe I should just do it… Miss Darbus will probably throw it out anyway."

"Then why are you going to waste your time on it?" Troy asked.

Kelsi paused. "Will you stay here with me when she asks me for the rewrite?"

"We won't leave your side," Gabriella promised.

"Okay. Then let's go back and start from the top."

----------

Sharpay returned promptly half an hour later, interrupting the trio as they worked.

"I'm not seeing you rewriting," Sharpay said to Kelsi.

Kelsi stood, and went to speak but hesitated. Gabriella nodded at Kelsi encouragingly.

"It works the way it is," Kelsi said tentatively. "I don't think people could keep up with the dance steps if it was any faster."

Sharpay narrowed her eyes, glaring at Kelsi. "How dare you…"

"Shar!" Ryan called, interrupting the conversation. "It's after 5, people want to go."

"Then dismiss them Ryan, can't you do anything for yourself?" Sharpay snapped.

Sharpay turned to Kelsi. "I'll let this go for now. You're lucky I have tap class to get to."

----------

"I know Sharpay is a pain but she's not THAT bad," Gabriella said.

Troy raised his eyebrows. "You've had just over a month of exposure. Try putting up with her for ten years and then come back and tell me that she's not that bad," Troy said sourly.

"I am so glad that we have Kelsi at rehearsals. Someone sane in amongst the insanity," Gabriella commented.

"She's good value," Troy agreed. "She's so different to anyone who I've ever talked to before. It's interesting… in a good way. It's like she has this whole different perspective on the world."

"I guess it's all do with being a composer… people who write music, they are reflective and insightful… in touch with their emotions," Gabriella mused.

"I kind of regret not getting to know people like Kelsi earlier," Troy admitted. "Too wrapped up in the world of basketball and cheerleaders to realise that there are all of these people out there who are amazing and have so much to offer."

"That's why you're amazing Troy. You didn't really know Kelsi, you didn't care about her. And back when we first inadvertently auditioned… you still treated her with respect, and encouraged her," Gabriella said, admiringly. "In spite of the fact that you were a part of that world… you were still open enough to treat Kelsi with respect, to encourage her."

"You think I'm amazing?" Troy asked flirtily.

"Among many other things," Gabriella admitted with a blush.

"Care to elaborate?"

"I don't think your ego needs stroking right now."

"Maybe on Friday you can tell me more then," Troy suggested.

"Maybe."

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE – Not a lot of Troyella I know, but this story isn't just about how their relationship develops, it's about overall, how we got from HSM1 to HSM2. So I wanted to begin to bring Kelsi in more as being a part of their crew; demonstrate why Gabriella would have faith in Ryan's skills to put together a show; show more sparks of Ryan not being happy with his sisters antics. **

**To make up for the lack of Troyella…. I present you with a promise for the next chapter in the form of – a preview!**

_**Chapter 16 – A PREVIEW! **_

"_It's so beautiful," she said with a contented smile, referring to the sky. It was just on the brink of nightfall, the sun almost completely down._

_Troy laid down beside her, shifting onto his side, propping himself up with his elbow. He ran a finger along her cheek._

"_Yes, yes it is," he agreed with a smile, but referring to Gabriella._


	16. Famous Last Words

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

**To TiCkLeD-pInK-TiNk: No, this story won't run right into HSM 2. However once I finish Here With You, I plan to tackle a story that picks up pretty much straight after HSM2, well, at some point during that summer. **

**To ZVKG-ai: Thank you for your comment, I really appreciate the reassurance that it's okay at the pace it is! And, yes, I changed it to T right after I posted the last chapter. Just lately I went through a bout of reading a series of T rated fics and decided that they were far more risqué than mine. And in light of the nature of the next portion of my verse, I thought that it would make more sense to make this a T and that would be an M. A big fat M. A big fat M which the perv in you will (hopefully) like. Porn with a plot baby! Lol. **

----------

**Chapter 16 – Famous Last Words**

_Every time we touch I get this feeling_

_And every time we kiss I swear I can fly_

_Can't you feel my heart beat fast_

_I want this to last_

_Need you by my side_

_- Everytime by Cascada_

----------

Troy felt a lot of pressure when making arrangements for his second date with Gabriella. The first date had gone so well, better than he ever could have imagined. He now felt that the bar was set at an impossible level to even meet, let alone exceed. It was Chad who came up with a simple and yet very appealing plan for the second date. Troy's theory was that he wanted it to be relaxed. Last time, whereas they'd had fun, they'd been racing around for half the evening. He wanted time to just sit back and spend time with Gabriella – without feeling a constant need to be the entertainment.

The plans were set perfectly.

Until Thursday night.

----------

Jack Bolton swallowed his mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"Sorry Troy, I knew you had plans to go out again but I didn't know it was tomorrow night," Jack said, genuinely feeling apologetic. "I have to go to this meeting, so I need my car."

"And I have work," Lucille added. "So you can't borrow mine either."

Troy groaned. "This blows."

"Do you really think that Gabriella will care if you have to get the bus out there?" Lucille asked as she sliced into her lamb chop.

"It's just not… date like. The bus. How romantic," Troy said sarcastically.

"You going for romance son?" Jack asked with a teasing grin.

"Shut up," Troy snapped.

Lucille shot her husband a look, pleading with him to not rile Troy up. "Troy, you're sixteen. How many sixteen year olds actually have constant access to cars?" Lucille tried to reason with her son.

----------

The next morning Troy got a lift to school with his dad, and was surprised to spot Gabriella sitting under a tree in the front of the school, reading. He approached her quietly from behind, placing his hands over her eyes.

"Guess who."

Gabriella giggled and smiled. Troy had tried to disguise his voice, but she would know him anywhere.

"Umm… Justin Timberlake?"

"Wrong."

"Miss Darbus?"

Troy laughed. "Very wrong."

"Hmm… could it be the very charming Wildcat superstar Troy Bolton?"

Troy removed his hands from her eyes. "How did you ever know?!?" he asked in mock surprise.

He slung his backpack onto the ground, taking a seat next to her.

"What you doing here so early?" Troy asked.

"My mom had an early meeting."

"Ahh I see. Well, I'm here to entertain you now."

Gabriella giggled, motioning towards her book. "I was satisfied with my book, but I do prefer this alternative."

"Speaking of entertainment… about tonight…" Troy had been about to start talking about the plans for their date, but paused. "Are you still uh…. Did you still want to go out?"

Gabriella pretended to contemplate, bringing her finger to her chin in deep thought. "Well, I did have plans with JT, but for you I guess I'll cancel on him."

"Well don't go cancelling so fast because after what I'm about to tell you, you might want to give Justin a chance."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "What?" she asked warily.

All sorts of worst case scenarios were floating through Gabriella's thoughts. She'd heard from someone that he was talking with one of the most popular cheerleaders after school the other day…

"Well tonight… I can't borrow a car," Troy told Gabriella regretfully.

Gabriella was relieved. "That's all?"

"Well yeah. It blows. It makes our lives a whole lot more difficult."

She shrugged. "That's cool. We don't need a car to have fun do we? Surely there's plenty of stuff around here."

"Yeah but it doesn't work with what I had planned," Troy grumbled.

"You have plans?" Gabriella asked, genuinely surprised.

"I have plans," he confirmed.

"I don't like you going to all this trouble. I feel bad, like I'm not doing anything," Gabriella said guiltily.

"You just don't like not having the control. Anyway, you're worth going to the trouble. And I also have one hell of a first date to live up to," he added.

"Troy, you could take me to Burger King and I'm sure that I would have a fantastic time just being with you."

"Well there will be no Burger King, with or without a car," Troy said.

"Then what were you planning?"

"Do you remember when we drove past the park just after I showed you the science centre? Well every second Friday of the month, they have this amateur performing night thing. Basically people in bands and some soloists with their guitars come and perform. They set up this dodgy temporary stage. But it's just this really cruisy, laid back feeling. You picnic in the park and there's music – some good, some not so good. Mainly it's acoustic folksy stuff, so I figured you might like it. And it's pretty and we can just sit and talk and chill and hang out and stuff…"

"That sounds perfect."

"Except that it's way on the other side of town and we'll have to get a bus to get there," Troy grumbled.

Gabriella smiled, and gently rubbed his arm comfortingly. "Think of the bus as a fun adventure."

Troy raised his eyebrows. "You haven't gotten a bus in Albuquerque yet, have you?"

"I like to try everything once."

----------

They made plans for Troy to go around to Gabriella's at about 6:15. Coach Bolton had stayed back to catch up on some marking, so they both got lifts home after musical rehearsal. Even still, it was a bit of a rush, with rehearsals finishing at 5.

One would think that of the two, it would be Gabriella who would have had more difficulty being ready on time. She was actually very efficient – it was only when she allowed herself hours to prepare, like before their first date, when she would fuss and preen.

It was Troy who ran into trouble. First he cut himself shaving, then he couldn't find the shirt he wanted to wear and when he did find it, it was crumpled on the floor in a ball. The iron was a mystery to Troy.

"What are all these dials and lights?" Troy asked impatiently.

"Just leave it on the current setting and wait for the light to go off," Lucille instructed her son.

She was rushing about getting ready for work, she was late herself and so didn't have time to stop and do it for him like she normally would. She came back in ten minutes later and Troy was sitting waiting for the iron.

"Uh I think it will be ready now Troy."

"You said to wait for the light to go off!!" Troy exclaimed in frustration.

Lucille came over to examine the iron. She sighed. "I meant this light here. That one is the light that is on when the iron is plugged in."

"Oh."

----------

He was fifteen minutes late to Gabriella's, not arriving until 6:30 – and he alternated between running and jogging the whole way over.

"I am so sorry I'm late," Troy said a little breathlessly when Gabriella opened the door. "Everything went wrong. I couldn't find my shirt and then I cut myself shaving and then my wallet seemed to have disa…"

Gabriella brought her finger up to Troy's lips, silencing him. The truth was that she'd been a little annoyed. However but the moment Troy had opened his mouth and began to apologise, any fraction of aggravation disappeared. She pressed her lips to his in a sweet, soft kiss.

"It's fine," she said with a smile. Gabriella then brought her hand around to the underside of Troy's chin where she could see it was a little red from where he had cut it. "Is this okay?"

"It's fine," Troy echoed, slightly dazed. He was convinced that her lips must emit some kind of magical daze inducing potion.

Gabriella brought her hand away. "So we should get going?"

Troy nodded. "If we go very efficiently we should be able to make the 6:40 bus."

He wasn't kidding when he said efficiently. He was walking at such a fast pace that Gabriella had to almost jog to keep up with him. They were a block away from the bus stop when Troy saw the worst sight possible up ahead.

The bus pulling away.

"Oh shit," he groaned.

Gabriella shrugged. "Oh well, we hang here til the next one."

"But it's not for twenty minutes!"

"Troy, do you have another date later tonight or something that I don't know about? Stop stressing. You said this thing in the park goes all night and the food places are open until late."

He softened. "I know… I just… I want everything to be perfect. For you."

"I know you do which I appreciate but… just being here with you… that's what makes it perfect… okay?"

The bus pulled up 25 minutes later – "Typical Albuquerque buses, running late," Troy had complained whilst they waited and the young couple stepped on board, paid the fare and looked up. The bus was packed, there was only one seat remaining. It was one of the seats at the beginning of the bus which faced the centre, designed for usage by the disabled and elderly.

"You take it," Troy and Gabriella said simultaneously.

"No you take it," they again said in unison.

"I am being the man here Gabriella, take the damn seat," Troy said with a grin.

Gabriella didn't move. Troy sighed. "Okay then we will compromise."

He sat down and pulled her down with him to sit on his lap.

"Troy!" she giggled. "I'm too heavy."

"Oh shut up. You're tiny."

Troy wrapped his arms around her waist, holding onto her tightly. Gabriella giggled but didn't protest. He held onto her for the whole bus ride.

They made it across town in one piece, and Troy showed Gabriella where there was a choice from a kebab shop, a burger bar or fish and chips. They both chose to order from the kebab store. Gabriella pulled out her purse after placing her order.

"And I'll be paying for both of these together," Troy said pointedly to the cashier.

"Troy!" Gabriella protested. "You paid last time."

"I let you pay for the bus," Troy countered.

"Wow, a dollar," Gabriella said sarcastically. "Watch out."

The cashier was getting annoyed. She got sick of people arguing about who was going to pay for the bill.

"Just put money in his wallet when he's not looking," she suggested to Gabriella. "That's what I do with my boyfriend all the time."

"Don't even try it," Troy warned Gabriella, and turned back to the cashier. "How much do I owe you?"

Gabriella grumbled good naturedly as Troy settled the payment.

"You can carry the bag, that's your contribution," Troy said to Gabriella.

He led her by the hand across the road and down the street towards the entrance to the park. As they approached they could already hear music playing. Troy scanned the park and headed towards a good spot. He swung his backpack around and pulled out a small blanket which he had stowed inside, and spread it out on the ground.

Gabriella sat down and observed the area around them. The area was lit by flood lights, a small stage erected for the musicians to perform on. It was very laid back, lots of young people and some families were out having a similar evening to herself and Troy – sitting around on a blanket, tucking into dinner, chatting. The music wasn't really the focal point, it provided more of a background setting. There were some hardcore music buffs sitting right up close to the stage.

After finishing eating their dinner, Gabriella laid down on her back.

"It's so beautiful," she said with a contented smile, referring to the sky. It was just on the brink of nightfall, the sun almost completely down.

Troy laid down beside her, shifting onto his side, propping himself up with his elbow. He ran a finger along her cheek.

"Yes, yes it is," he agreed with a smile, but referring to Gabriella.

Gabriella tore her eyes away from the sky and looked at Troy. She felt a little embarrassed, she wasn't used to having her physical appearance complimented by anyone, let alone a gorgeous member of the opposite sex. He leaned over and kissed her sweetly on the lips.

"I'm glad I'm not afraid to do that anymore," Troy commented.

"And I'm glad you're not afraid to do it anymore," Gabriella responded.

Troy grinned and laughed gently.

There were three acts over the space of the next hour. The first was pretty awful in Troy's opinion, but it was okay because it meant that neither he nor Gabriella felt compelled to pay attention so they simply enjoyed one another's company, laughing and talking. The second band they both really liked, in fact Gabriella liked them so much that she made a mental note to visit their MySpace page. They had mentioned some local gigs that were coming up, although she doubted that any of them would be all ages. The third was a solo guy with his guitar, crooning out some country tunes. He wasn't bad, as far as country music goes.

As the next band began to set up, it started to shower ever so slightly.

"What?! I checked the weather forecast and everything," Troy groaned in dismay.

"It might not last," Gabriella pointed out. "A little water never hurt anyone."

The shower didn't last long and the band proceeded to begin their performance, however about halfway through another shower started to sprinkle. Troy groaned, and stared up at the sky. "Go away. Mother Nature I beg of you, not tonight."

Mother Nature wasn't Troy's friend that night because at that moment, the rain got considerably heavier. The crowd had gradually started to clear as the showers first began, but now, nearly everyone began to hurriedly pack up their belongings. The band finished their current song, and then began to pack up.

"Come on," Gabriella beckoned Troy. "We need to find shelter."

"There's a video game arcade just across the street and up a block. We could chill there until we see if the rain goes away and the music starts up again."

Troy took her hand and led the way, holding his jacket in the air and over them in an attempt to shield them from the rain. They entered the arcade, it was fairly busy – undoubtedly many young people had the same idea to wait out the rain.

"Oooh it's a place with tickets!" Gabriella squealed. "I love tickets."

She pored over the counter, examining the worthless knickknacks and stuffed animals you could claim in exchange for the tickets you won playing games.

"You want one?" Troy asked, watching Gabriella pick up a stuffed monkey and stroke it adoringly.

"It's like three hundred tickets Troy. I used to come to these places all the time, it takes a heap of money to get that many tickets."

"I could do it with…" Troy did math in his head. "How many times does twenty go into three hunred?

"Fifteen," Gabriella replied instantly.

"Okay then. Fifteen dollars, no more."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "This I have to see."

Troy led her by the hand to the back corner where three basketball games were in a row. It was the type where multiple balls roll down the slope towards the player, with the aim to score as many points as possible. The hoop moves from side to side and up and down to make it more difficult.

"These things are stupid," Gabriella complained. "They hardly ever give you any tickets."

"Watch and learn from the master at play," Troy announced, inserting a coin into the slot.

Gabriella watched in amazement as Troy scored shot after shot after shot, the points accumulating.

"In the arcade at the mall, I have the top ten scores on all of the five machines," Troy informed her proudly as the tickets spurted out the machine. Gabriella was mesmerised.

"There's over twenty tickets there. From one coin."

"Yeah I was a bit off," Troy said breezily. "Just warming up."

----------

An hour later, Gabriella was the proud new owner of a stuffed monkey.

"What you going to name him?" Troy asked.

"Who says it's necessarily a him?" Gabriella ventured.

Troy rolled his eyes and picked up the monkey, turning it upside down and examining carefully.

"Well from here, it looks like it's neither a him nor a her. It is without defining body parts. And him is the generic term."

"Fine. It's a him… Umm… I could name it Troy," she suggested with a giggle.

"You calling me a monkey Gabriella? Name it Chad."

Gabriella wrinkled up her nose. "No, it's not a Chad. How about… Wildcat?"

"But it's a monkey. Not a cat."

"So?"

"So, it's a monkey," Troy repeated firmly.

"I'll think about it and get back to you then," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes.

They wandered about the arcade for another half hour or so. In that time, Troy beat Gabriella at table hockey, car racing, a shooting game and some crazy game with little men throwing paintballs at one another. Troy was in heaven and could have kept playing for a lot longer but he sensed that Gabriella had lost interest. She was spending more time playing with her toy monkey than actually caring about what game they were going to play next.

"Do you want to get sticker photos?" Troy asked

He motioned towards a bank of photo booths where the teenage girls seemed to be heading towards. Gabriella lit up, clearly liking the idea.

"Ooh!"

"I take it that's a yes."

Gabriella headed towards one of the available machines. Before Troy could bring out his pocketful of coins, she had pulled out her purse and put her own coins into the slot. Troy glared at her.

"Ha!" she declared triumphantly.

They entered and Troy allowed Gabriella to pore over the options of hearts, daisies and clouds to decorate with, as well as the border and what not. Eventually she selected stars as the primary decorating feature.

"Okay so it takes four photos pretty much in a row and then you pick two of them," Gabriella informed him, reading out the directions. "Ready to pose?"

"Do one silly!" Troy insisted. "Silly photos are the best."

The first photo they selected was indeed Troy's silly photo – Gabriella had thrown a Charlie's Angel style pose, side on pretending to hold onto a gun; whereas Troy had turned around, and then dropped his shoulder and looked around him, furrowing his eyebrows and pursing his lips.

And the second, Gabriella's favourite, Troy was behind her with his arms wrapped tightly around her, both of them smiling happily. It was simple, but cute.

"We should probably get heading home," Troy said. "They'll close up here soon and I'm not sure what the night timetable is like for the buses. Don't want to miss the last one."

Gabriella nodded and they headed out of the arcade and back in the direction of the bus stop. It wasn't pouring with rain but it was showering fairly heavily. And Troy kept in mind they had not only the walk to the bus stop, but then also the walk from the bus stop home.

"Well if dad was home I'd say I'd call him and he would come pick us up," Troy commented. "Uh… do you want to get a cab? I think the rain is just going to get worse."

Gabriella shook her head. "Nah it's all good. Waste of money. The bus stop isn't far from here anyway, and then it's not that far back home. I don't think the rain will get much heavier."

Famous last words.

**To be continued…**

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: In case you didn't get it, for the sticker photo… Troy's silly pose… Think the HSM2 bloopers with Zac… you know from the opening scene, stripey shirt in the classroom, in his chair turning around… if you don't know then go look now because it's absolutely adorable.**

**I'm enjoying providing you with previews at the moment huh?**

**Chapter 17 – A Preview**

"_Even your lips are cold…" Troy murmured._

"_Your lips are cold too," Gabriella responded softly. "I think there is only one way to rectify this situation."_


	17. Too Good To Be True

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. Nor do I have any association with the Veronicas – although Jess's ex bf Steve is one fine piece of ass and I would love to have association with him… **

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: You guys are so awesome. Each and every person who has ever left a review – you guys brighten up my day. You rock:-) **

**To icesk8er93 – who asked if they are bf and gf – very interesting question. I like that you're wondering that because it means that you're understanding the Gabriella that I'm writing, you're in her headspace… this will be addressed in a few chapters time! **

----------

**Chapter 17 – Too Good to be True**

_You think I look the best  
When my hair is a mess  
I can't believe you exist  
I could get used to this  
Because I know you're too good to be true  
I must have done something good to meet you_

_- 'I Could Get Used to This' by the Veronicas_

----------

Gabriella and Troy headed from the video game arcade towards the bus stop, which was about five blocks away. With the rain which had been showering on and off for more than a couple of hours, the pathway was now covered in water, with random puddles about the place. Gabriella was finding it difficult to walk, her ballet flats were comfortable but they had very little grip. Every other step she would have to steady herself, or alternatively she had to walk very slowly and tentatively to make sure she wasn't going to fall flat on her face.

Troy watched Gabriella in amusement as she attempted to walk along normally.

"My shoes are slippery," Gabriella complained, seeing him watching her.

Troy slid the backpack off his back. "Put this on," he instructed her.

Gabriella wordlessly complied, not sure what Troy was planning. He kneeled down on the ground.

"Get on," he prompted.

"Do you want to break your back?" Gabriella asked facetiously.

"Get on Gabriella, or I will just sit down on the concrete, right here in the rain," Troy threatened. "I promise that if you're too heavy, I'll make you get down."

Gabriella sighed and cautiously stood behind him.

"Oh my God this is weird," Gabriella squealed as Troy stood up.

"See, what did I tell you? Light as a feather."

Gabriella giggled and squeezed his upper arms. "No, you're just strong."

"I'll let you believe that."

As they approached the bus shelter, Troy knelt back down to set Gabriella on the ground. The little undercover bench was packed with other people left out stranded in the rain. Troy went over to examine the timetable.

"Only five minutes. Let's go wait undercover by those shops. We'll see the bus coming and can run over," Troy suggested. Gabriella nodded in agreement.

"Do the night buses run more efficiently than the afternoon buses?" Gabriella enquired. She was shivering and her teeth were chattering.

Troy pulled off his jacket. "Here."

"No I…"

"Gabriella, take the damn jacket," Troy said a little impatiently, groaning loudly. "Oh my God this is the worst date ever!"

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh as she gratefully accepted his jacket. "Glad to know that you think that."

"Well it is! I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to see me ever again."

Troy was being rather melodramatic. He was normally an easy going guy. However with particular aspects of his life – the things he felt strongly about – there was a tendency towards perfectionism. Basketball, for example. He could spend hours in his backyard, just doing jump shot after jump shot until he felt satisfied with it being perfect. And now, there was Gabriella. Troy wanted every second of every moment they spent together to be perfect. Because she deserved nothing less.

"Well, there is this pesky musical which will ensure that I will continue to see you regularly for a while to come," Gabriella pointed out. "But musical aside… Troy, you can't control the weather. And I'm having fun. Yes this is ridiculous and I'm freaking freezing and my hair is going all spastic. But, I'm here with you. So it's fine. All you can do is laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. Besides, we had fun with dinner and the music was good until it was raining. We had fun at the arcade. And I have my monkey."

"Which you have still yet to name," Troy pointed out.

"It will come to me. I haven't thought of the right name yet."

Despite wearing Troy's jacket, Gabriella was still shivering. Troy wrapped his arms around her, holding Gabriella close in a tight hug, rubbing his hands up and down her arms.

"Aren't you freezing?" Gabriella enquired as he pulled away from the hug.

"You're the smart one. Isn't there linkage between how temperatures affect you and being little?" Troy asked, poking her tummy.

Gabriella giggled. "Yes. But you're not exactly big Troy."

"I have muscle," Troy defended himself. "Didn't we just establish that fact when I carried you down the street?"

"Yes, yes we did."

Troy lightly pressed his lips against hers.

"Even your lips are cold…" Troy murmured.

"Your lips are cold too," Gabriella responded softly. "I think there is only one way to rectify this situation."

She pulled him back down to for another gentle kiss. They remained standing close, hands linked, faces lingering just inches apart.

"Much better," Troy declared softly, his breath tickling Gabriella's face.

For the first time in the history of the bus company in Albuquerque, the bus arrived as per its scheduled time. Right at the moment when both Troy and Gabriella were willing it to arrive late, prolonging their moment of stolen kisses. Troy was forced to pull away from Gabriella and lead her in the direction of where the bus had pulled up.

Gabriella felt a twang of disappointment upon realising that the majority of the people didn't get on the bus, and that there were plenty of seats available. She headed towards a pair of seats about half way up the bus available, and Troy promptly sat right beside her, taking her hand with his. Despite all of Troy's negative commentary of the bus service, Gabriella was grateful for the heating system, bringing her body temperature to a more comfortable level.

Troy pulled Gabriella's toy monkey out of the backpack.

"Hello Gabriella. I am your friend and I like you very much but I need a name. Can you please name me?" Troy said in a stupid voice that was a cross between Elmo and the Cookie Monster.

Gabriella burst into laughter at the absurdity of the voice which Troy had created to be the monkey's voice.

"Are you mocking me?" Troy asked in his normal voice, raising his eyebrows.

"Never," she managed to reply between giggles.

"If you don't name the monkey before we have to get off the bus, then I am confiscating him," Troy threatened.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Watch me."

"I already said I wanted to name it Wildcat," Gabriella said with a pout.

"And I still don't understand why you would want to name a monkey after a cat."

"Coz… you're a Wildcat. And then it will remind me of you," Gabriella said shyly. "Besides, you said you didn't want me calling it Troy. I'm not calling it 'number 14.'"

"But it's a monkey," Troy protested.

Gabriella sighed. "What about…" then it hit her. "Arnie!"

"Arnie?" Troy repeated. "Arnie? As in the Terminator, Governor Arnie?"

"No silly. As in Arnold. From Twinkle Town. It's Arnie. Arnie, meet Troy. Troy, meet Arnie. Discussion closed."

Troy sensed the finality in Gabriella's decision. "Arnie it is."

"Aren't we going a different way than when we came?" Gabriella noted, peering out the window.

Troy nodded. "Yeah, the buses heading back east go on a slightly different route. We're going to have about an extra two blocks to walk."

----------

When they reached their stop, they stepped from the warm comfort of the bus to the harsh cold of the steady rain. Troy motioned across the street, where the stop on the other side of the road had a bench and a shelter.

"Let's wait until the rain slows a little," he suggested.

The wind had now picked up, meaning that even the bus shelter didn't provide complete sanctuary from the wet. Gabriella once again began to shiver, and Troy finally had the brainwave to retrieve the blanket from his backpack, wrapping it around her. She noted that he too was shivering a little – no wonder when she had both his jacket and the blanket.

"Want some?" Gabriella asked shyly, holding it open.

He scooted over sitting closely to her, sharing the blanket between the two of them. The blanket was only small, and they were pressed right up against one another in order to wrap the blanket around each of their shoulders.

"See, sharing body heat is the most effective tool at our disposal," Gabriella claimed, turning her head to look at Troy.

He was lingering just a couple of inches away from her. "I think my lips are cold again," he said softly.

"Our lips have many nerve endings, that's why they are so sensitive to the warm and the cold and to touch," she responded, drawing in the gap between them, kissing him gently.

"Look," Troy said softly, gesturing outside. "Hardly any rain."

"Should we make a break for it?" Gabriella asked.

"May as well, we could be here all night otherwise," Troy agreed.

She pulled the blanket away from her, handing it to him. He waved it away.

"At least take your jacket then," Gabriella insisted.

"Keep it. I don't feel the cold much."

Gabriella removed her shoes, clutching them in her left hand, and they headed along the main road in the direction of the turn into their neighbourhood. Less than half a block later – it began to pour. It came from nowhere, one moment there was only the slightest sprinkle, and the next it was absolutely bucketing down. Troy glanced around wildly, trying to find some form of shelter. Short of going up to some stranger's balcony, there was nothing within close range.

"Don't worry, let's just keep going," Gabriella said loudly, having to raise her voice to be heard over the rain.

They set out at a cracking pace, just as fast as they had hours earlier when trying to make the bus on time.

Troy glanced over at Gabriella as they strode along. She was saturated. Completely, thoroughly saturated. She looked like she'd jumped in a swimming pool fully clothed. Her make up had gone all streaky, black smudges down her cheeks. Her clothes were dripping and wrinkled, so too was the blanket wrapped around her. She was holding her slippery shoes in her left hand and had strands of hair stuck to her cheeks.

And she was still the most beautiful girl Troy had laid eyes upon.

Gabriella paused and turned around, realising that Troy had stopped moving and was standing still.

"Troy, come on!"

He brazenly stepped towards her and cupped his hand against her cheek. When Troy's lips met hers for a soft kiss, Gabriella forgot that she was saturated and shivering, instead feeling warm inside. Troy tentatively deepened the kiss, coaxing Gabriella's lips apart slightly. Gabriella brought a hand up to rest on the back of Troy's neck as she allowed the open mouth kiss to continue for a moment. But then Gabriella instinctually pulled away before it could go any further.

"We should get going," she whispered.

The truth was that Gabriella felt a little embarrassed. Here she was, a 16 year old girl, nearly 17 at that. Afraid of allowing an amazingly gorgeous guy to kiss her, to REALLY kiss her.

Without needing her to explicitly tell him, he knew that Gabriella hadn't had a lot of experience when it came to the opposite sex. He understood that she was shy and tentative. He smiled at her comfortingly, trying to silently reassure her that he didn't mind in the slightest, that he was fine to wait.

"Okay," Troy said simply.

This time, they didn't even try to rush along. They were both now so completely saturated that there was no point in rushing along. Instead they walked along at a nice pace, talking, laughing, splashing in the puddles. However once Gabriella's house came into sight, the novelty of playing in the rain was far away, and the notion of warm shelter was far more appealing. They ran up the driveway and to Gabriella's front door.

"Come inside," Gabriella insisted, fishing around in her purse for her keys.

Troy didn't need to be told twice, and followed her inside.

Elena Montez heard the front door opening, and stood from her place in the living room in front of the television. She gasped upon seeing the pair standing in the hallway, sopping wet.

"You must be freezing! You could catch a cold or even worse!" Elena exclaimed. "You should have known better Gabriella."

"Sorry mom," Gabriella said, hanging her head.

"You shouldn't have been out walking in that rain! You should have called me, or gotten a cab or something!"

Elena glanced at Troy. Gabriella knew her mom and she knew that look. It was that look where, although she wasn't going to directly say it, she disapproved of Troy for allowing Gabriella to be in such a situation.

"Troy wanted to call a cab but I was the one who said not to worry. We were fine mom," Gabriella insisted.

Elena sighed. "I'll run and get you both some towels. Don't walk on the carpet!"

Gabriella winced at Troy and mouthed 'Sorry.' He simply smiled back reassuringly. Elena returned with an armful of towels, handing a couple to each of them.

"Gabriella, go and get changed into something dry. Oh and grab one of my t-shirts for Troy. It's the best I can do sorry," Elena said apologetically to Troy.

"It's fine Miss Montez. I should probably get going home anyway."

Elena shook her head. "Nonsense. Stay and get warmed up, I've been around enough years to know that you shouldn't stay in wet clothes. Dry off and then I'll drive you home."

"You don't have to worry about that. I only live a few blocks away."

"Even more the reason why it's fine. Now keep drying off and I'll be back in a minute."

Troy stood in the hallway, patting himself down with a towel until Gabriella returned, handing him a "I love NY" white souvenir shirt.

"That's the most manly thing I could find," Gabriella informed him.

Troy laughed. "It's fine."

"Come in here when you're not dripping and sit in front of the heater," Elena called from the lounge room.

Gabriella rolled her eyes but nevertheless went into the lounge area. Troy quickly unbuttoned his wet shirt and put the t-shirt on in its place. He then headed in the direction Gabriella had gone in. Elena was fussing about with the heater, trying to find the optimum setting.

"Let me take that," Elena insisted, holding her hand out for Troy's wet shirt. "I'll run this and your jacket through the dryer, they won't take long. Once they're ready then I'll drive you home. And meanwhile, how would you like to try one of my homemade brownies? I had a domestic spell this afternoon, they're freshly baked."

"Mom makes the most awesome brownies, you have to try one Troy," Gabriella said enthusiastically.

"Sure, sounds great," Troy said politely.

As soon as Miss Montez was out of earshot, he turned to Gabriella.

"Is your mom angry at us? She seems really upset about this whole getting wet thing," Troy said softly.

"Um… she's just overprotective," Gabriella explained. "Don't worry, she's not mad at you. Otherwise she would have just driven you home straight away with a lecture to go inside and get warmed up straight away."

Elena returned shortly carrying a tray with three bowls. There was a slice of chocolate brownie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream in each. Troy accepted his bowl and then looked up to see both Elena and Gabriella watching him, waiting in anticipation. He took a scoop of brownie and ice cream with the spoon, and lifted it to his mouth.

"Oh my God, these is amazing!" Troy said the moment he had swallowed.

Elena smiled proudly. "Family recipe.

----------

"Thank you so much Miss Montez, I really appreciate the lift," Troy said gratefully as she pulled up outside his house.

"Not a problem at all," Elena said graciously.

He glanced at Gabriella, who he was sitting next to in the back seat. Troy wanted to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her so badly. It seemed wrong to have shared so many kisses throughout the evening, and to not share a kiss good night. However there was no way on the planet that he was going to kiss Gabriella with her mother present.

"Uh, I'll call you tomorrow," he said casually, squeezing her hand gently.

Gabriella leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. "Good night," she said softly.

"Oh! I nearly forgot."

Troy zipped open his backpack, pulling out Gabriella's monkey. Gabriella giggled.

"Thank you."

He flashed his award winning smile at Gabriella, and then stepped out of the car.

Elena waited until Troy had jogged to his front door and gone inside safely before pulling away.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Have I thanked you yet for coming to Albuquerque?"

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Don't be angry at me for drawing out the big real kiss. I have many reasons which I could justify to you if you feel that strongly that my drawing it out is unrealistic. And NO one of those reasons isn't for dramatic writing purposes; it's all to do with my beliefs about the characters and the rate at which the relationship needs to develop in order to make the jump between HSM 1 and HSM 2 realistic. **

**I would like to acknowledge that the bus company in Albuquerque may very possibly in the real world be very efficient. My comments in relation to their lack of timeliness have no bearing upon any actual knowledge that I have as I have not personally nor have I conversed with anyone who has personally experienced the service.**

**Chapter 18… A Preview…**

"_I'll just close the door… give you some privacy to take care of that," Chad said slyly, gesturing to the bedspread. _

_Troy looked down, seeing the tent that had formed. _

"_Shut the fuck up," Troy groaned, picking up a pillow and throwing it at Chad. Chad laughed and left, closing the door. _


	18. Daydreaming

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. I have no association with 'Of Montreal' the band whose lyrics I have quoted.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: All hail my reviewers, I bow down to you in gratitude. I'd love to hear from some more people, I know that more people are following this than the number that review. So pretty please, even if you just say "I liked it" or "that was stupid" that's fine! Haha. **

**Anywho… as hinted in the preview of this chapter from the previous instalment, there is a blatant sexual reference which church elders may frown upon. Consider yourself warned.**

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**Chapter 18 – Daydreaming**

_All I want to do is lay in the daisies and daydream of you know who I'm referring to...you._

_You're my love you're my star above _

_And everyday is a dreamy day of daydreaming of you_

_- Dreamy Day of Daydreaming By Of Montreal_

----------

"So with just a battery, an electric light bulb and socket, three wires and alligator clips, a beaker, distilled water…" Taylor listed.

Gabriella was staring off into space, tuning in and out of Taylor's experiment.

'_Troy is so brilliant… everything about him is amazing… and wonderful… and stunning… oh how gorgeous… those beautiful blue orbs staring into my soul…'_

"So the metallic items will make the lamp light whereas…"

'_I love the freckle on the side of his cheek, he says he hates it but it's absolutely adorable… _

"… test the conductivity of water by…" Taylor continued.

'_It was so cute when he got all competitive… he had that glint in his eye, like he was playing a real game when all he was doing was trying to win tickets…'_

"…use an ohmmeter rather than a battery, which makes the set up…"

'_He makes me feel special, I've never felt special before… he looks at me and it's like I'm the only girl in the world…''_

"… proportional to the concentration of ions…"

'_Those luscious lips… I don't know why I pulled away… I shouldn't be scared, I like him so much…. But I guess that's why, because he might think I'm weird if I can't do it right…'_

"… is that right, Gabriella?" Taylor queried.

'_Maybe I should just talk to him about it, Dr. Phil is always going on about communication…'_

"Gabriella?" Martha ventured.

'_But that's easier said than done…'_

"Troy is here!" Taylor said loudly.

"What?!?" Gabriella exclaimed, glancing around wildly.

Taylor rolled her eyes, feeling a bit exasperated. "Gabriella, we need your head here with us, in the world of scholastic decathlon. We've been at your house for half an hour and I swear you've spent that entire time in your little daydreaming about Troy land."

"Sorry," Gabriella said sheepishly.

"She had a date last night," Martha informed the others.

"Oh you didn't say anything! How did it go?" Kim asked.

"Umm…. Really well," Gabriella said, blushing.

"Doesn't the faraway gaze give that away," Martha said with a teasing grin.

"I'm sorry… I'll concentrate," Gabriella promised. "Now what were you asking me?"

"The molecular bond of plastics, rubber and ceramics? It's a covalent bond, right?" Jenna asked.

Gabriella nodded. "Right."

----------

Gabriella was lying down on the grass by the pond.

"It's so nice here," she sighed contentedly. "Thank you for bringing me here."

Troy was on his side beside her, his hand lovingly caressing her cheek.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured.

Troy pressed his lips against Gabriella's softly. She surprised him by wrapping her hand around the back of his neck and opening her mouth, probing his tongue hungrily with her own.

"Oh Gabriella," Troy moaned breathily as they pulled apart.

They began to stroll through the park, passing a series of dancing monkeys along the way. They stumbled across a purple lake, which had appeared from the middle of nowhere. Gabriella looked out at the water and then back at Troy.

"Come on!" she encouraged him, and dove into the water.

Troy watched after her longingly.

"Bolton," Gabriella said in a singsong voice as she emerged from the lake, no longer wearing her jeans and top, instead a red sequin bikini in its place.

"You never call me that," Troy murmured.

"What?"

"Gabriella?"

"No, I would be Chad. Bolton, get out of bed. Your Playstation awaits us."

Troy opened his eyes. Chad, Zeke and Jason were leaning over his bed, staring at him.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he grumbled. "It's so early…"

"It's nearly midday you lazy fuck," Jason said good naturedly.

"Nice dream?" Zeke asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Until you shits interrupted it."

Jason began to rifle through Troy's closet, pulling out a t-shirt and jeans and throwing them at Troy.

"You're the one who told us to come over today, so hurry up," Chad said.

Troy was in a predicament. Had his buddies not interrupted the dream then the current predicament may have become a different predicament involving the need to wash his sheets. There was however a straightforward solution to the present problem, a solution which men all around the world, and in particular teenage boys, employ on a regular basis.

"Would you lot clear out while I get ready then," Troy said uncomfortably. "Go downstairs, watch TV, play some ball. Just not in here."

The boys complied, filing out of the room. Chad turned around and cleared his throat.

"I'll just close the door… give you some privacy to take care of that," he smirked, gesturing to the bedspread.

Troy looked down, seeing the tent that had formed.

"Shut the fuck up," Troy groaned, picking up a pillow and throwing it at Chad.

Chad laughed and left, closing the door. Troy closed his eyes, bringing his hand down, ready to relieve the tension.

'_Okay… so where was I… right… red sequin bikini…'_

----------

Troy bound down the stairs twenty minutes later, the boys hanging around in the kitchen clearing out the Bolton household refrigerator.

"Chuck me the OJ would you," Troy requested.

Jason who was closest to the fridge, picked up the bottle and handed it over. Troy unscrewed the cap and took a swig from the bottle.

"So, how was last night?" Zeke asked slyly.

"It was great," Troy answered. "We got a bit wet. The storm and all. But it was all good."

"Did you hook up?" Chad asked.

"A gentleman never kisses and tells," Troy said elusively.

Troy was fine with Gabriella's hesitation to let him kiss her the way he wanted to. He hadn't taken it personally, somewhere deep inside he just knew that it wasn't about him. But he could just imagine the shit he would have to put up with if he told the guys what had really happened. So he chose to let them believe what they wanted to believe – which was of course that he hooked up.

"Nice," Jason said admirably.

"Anyway, are we going to play or not?" Zeke asked.

Troy nodded. "Yeah, just give me a second."

He picked up his phone and quickly typed out a text message.

'**I miss u'**

---

"The key motifs in _Othello_ are sight and blindness; plants; animals; and also demons and monsters," Jenna said.

Gabriella's phone chimed, sounding its text message sound.

"Five bucks says it's Troy," Martha said.

Gabriella picked up her phone and instantly smiled, giggled and blushed reading the message.

"Look," she gushed to Taylor, handing her the cell to read.

"I never would have picked Troy Bolton to be such a sap," Taylor remarked.

'**I miss you too. I've been thinking about you… Arnie also misses you.'**

---

Troy laughed out loud, and contemplated what to write in response.

"What she say now. 'Oh Troy I love you'?" Zeke said in a high pitched voice, pretending to be Gabriella.

"She said her monkey misses me."

"Huh?"

"Yes! Yes! Kill it!" Jason shouted at the television screen, frantically pressing buttons on the controller.

"Move you stupid shit, don't just stand there!" Chad groaned, frustrated with the lack of control he seemed to have over his character.

"Dude, you need to jump over the obstacle," Zeke advised him.

"I know that, I'm trying, nothing is happening!"

"You're pressing the wrong button!"

'**Also thinking abt u… u in ur meeting?'**

---

"I think we need a team rule banning cell phones during meetings," Jeremy commented as Gabriella picked up her phone again.

"Oh shut up, it's cute," Martha said with a grin.

"Yeah, who do you think you are, Miss Darbus?" Jenna added.

Gabriella was touched that the girls had defended her. "Thanks girls… but Jeremy is right, and I'm sorry. I'll tell him I'm busy," she told Jeremy.

'**Yeah… Jeremy is annoyed that I am texting you.'**

---

"Why don't you just tell her to come over," Chad said as Troy's phone went off again. "Gab would like Halo I bet."

Troy snorted. "She's at a decathlon meeting."

"Oh… tell her that I say hi to Taylor."

'**Is Jez jealous? Chad says hi 2 Tay'**

---

"Chad says hi to you," Gabriella informed Taylor immediately.

Taylor smiled. "Oh…"

Jeremy exhaled. "Maybe we should take a break."

"Help yourself to food. My mom made sandwiches, they're in the fridge," Gabriella said, waving towards the kitchen.

"Do you wanna say hi back?"

"Yeah all right," Taylor said, trying to sound casual. But her grin indicated otherwise.

'**I highly doubt that Jeremy is jealous, but if so then you have nothing to worry about, believe me. You do know that Jeremy is the short kid who carries around a dictionary and corrects people on their grammar? Taylor says hi back to Chad.'**

----------

The text messaging continued throughout the afternoon, taking a brief break during the remainder of the decathlon meeting and while Troy and the guys played a quick game of two on two. It continued while Troy sat down to work on his English homework, and while Gabriella was getting ready to go out for dinner. And then while Troy was watching TV and while Gabriella was in the car with her mom heading to the restaurant.

Gabriella hadn't been looking forward to the dinner at the slightest. She knew it was going to be boring, just a few of her mom's co workers and families. But it was important to her mom and so Gabriella knew she had to suck it up. Fortunately, she had some entertainment of her own in her handbag. Whilst reading the menu, her phone vibrated.

'**Bored yet?'**

'**I haven't even ordered and I'm bored. Should I have the Thai salad or the quiche?'**

'**Ur moms paying right? Order a steak. U eat like a rabbit.'**

----------

Gabriella hadn't been home for long, and had just changed into her pyjamas when she heard a light tapping on her balcony door. She gasped and looked up to see Troy grinning at her.

"Troy! What are you doing here?" she said softly. "My mom will kill you if she finds out you're here."

"I'm not staying long, I promise. Cute pj's by the way," Troy teased.

Gabriella's eyes widened, she all of a sudden felt rather embarrassed. Of course she had picked that night to be wearing her pink flannels with the frogs all over them.

"Really Troy, why are you here?" Gabriella asked impatiently, glancing toward her bedroom door in panic.

"Aren't you glad to see me?" Troy asked, sticking out his bottom lip in a pout.

She softened. "Of course I am. I just… I want to keep being allowed to see you. I don't want to get into trouble."

"Well for a good cause like that, I'll be quick and get on with why I came. Two little things."

"Okay…"

"Number one… a bunch of us have decided to hang at the mall tomorrow afternoon. You interested?" he queried.

"Who is a bunch of us?" Gabriella asked warily.

Troy knew what she was inferring. "Well the guys… wouldn't you like to get to know them better? Without alcoholic influence? Also, I do believe Chad was going to ask Taylor if that's what you wanted to know."

"You see straight through me. Uh… sure I guess. Why not?"

Troy grinned. "That's the spirit. I'll let you know the details in the morning."

"And what was number two?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled teasingly. "This."

He brought his hand up to caress the side of her face, leaned over, and softly kissed her.

"It's been driving me crazy all day, texting you when all I wanted to do was see you and do that," Troy said softly.

Gabriella smiled shyly. "Yeah… me too."

On a sudden whim, she pulled him down to kiss her, lips crashing together with a little more force than usual. It was Gabriella this time who initiated the open mouth kiss. Troy was taken aback by her hunger, and couldn't help but follow his natural instinct and tentatively allow his tongue to brush against hers. Yet again, she pulled away. Yet again, she kicked herself for pulling away. Yet again, Troy kicked himself for pushing.

"Sorry," he whispered.

After the night before, he'd sat down and had a long think about how he needed to control his hormones; let Gabriella guide the pace of that aspect of what was developing between them. He hated the prospect of making her feel uncomfortable, or like she was doing something she wasn't ready for.

Gabriella shook her head, staring at the floor, avoiding making eye contact. "No don't be sorry… I'm sorry. You must think I'm a freak or something."

Troy cupped her chin with his hand, drawing up her head to force her to make eye contact with him

"Not in the slightest," Troy responded firmly. "It's refreshing that this is all new to you. And it makes me like you even more when you make the first move and kiss me, even though I know that you're completely terrified when doing so."

Gabriella nodded. She wanted to believe his words, that he didn't mind that she was making them take things so slowly. However common sense dictated to her that Troy was a teenage boy; she'd heard enough stories to know that he had kissed many girls before; and that his patience was only going to last for so long.

"It's late… and I really don't want to get in trouble with my mom."

Troy nodded. "Yeah, I snuck out anyway. I don't think my parents would be happy knowing I came over here for a late night jaunt."

Troy sensed that Gabriella was still feeling embarrassed about her shyness.

"Gabriella?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I say good night to Arnie?"

A smile broke on her face, and she giggled. She retrieved the monkey from its home – settled amongst the pillows on her bed.

"Night little buddy," Troy said affectionately to the monkey. "Now you make sure that Gabriella knows how special she is, okay? I won't have any of this 'I'm such a freak' nonsense."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I get it Troy."

He stepped towards her. "I hear you saying it, but I don't believe that you believe me when I say it. For all I care, we can sit on opposite sides of the room and have a conversation from that far apart. If that's what I have to do to be around you, then that's cool."

"I don't think that will be necessary," Gabriella teased, kissing him lightly on the lips. "See? I wasn't terrified that time."

Troy grinned. "Now that's sorted, I will let you get your beauty sleep – not that you need any," he quickly added. "It's just a figure of speech."

"And you'll let me know about the mall in the morning?" Gabriella confirmed.

"Absolutely."

Gabriella watched as Troy traversed over the balcony railing, down the lattice and sliding down a pole. He flashed one final grin at her before jogging through the side garden gate and into the distance.

Fifteen minutes later, Gabriella received her final text message for the night.

'**Sweet dreams xo -Troy'**

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**Next chapter on 'Here With You' – the gang chill out at the mall!**


	19. The Mall

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. I would additionally like to give credit to the writers of the television series 'Friends' for inspiring the notion of a gallon of milk in sixty seconds; to Google for helping me find out about a mall in Albuquerque and the name of a prominent sportswear store in the US; and to the people from for helping me acquire a quote for my opening.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I read authors notes where the author says 'okay I don't like this chapter' I normally groan because I think, if you don't like it why are you publishing it? If you don't like it, why expect other people to? But as I sit here and have tried to write this chapter over and over and over and it just isn't coming the way I want it to, I get how it happens. It's hard because a lot of the stuff I want to write, I can see it happening, I can imagine how it would work in a TV show or movie, I've had the experiences in my own life – but to put it in words on the screen, it just doesn't come to life the way I want it to. Having said that, I'm chapters ahead of myself and with the timeline I'm under the get this damn thing finished, I really can't be bothered. All I can do is implore anyone who reads this chapter and thinks 'okay this is shit I won't read this story again' to pretty please keep reading because some of my favourite chapters are still to come. Then again the last chapter was one of my favourites and my review count dropped a little. So maybe I'm just on a totally different wavelength to people! **

**Additionally – I made up the title of the movie they go see. I don't do scary movies, don't watch them, didn't feel the desire to research them to find one which I could use as a basis of what movie they go see. **

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**Chapter 19 – The Mall**

"_I'm just one of those people that if I sit down to watch a horror film, I put my hands over my face and I cry a lot and I don't see half of the film because I'm too upset."_

_- Neve Campbell_

----------

Gabriella, Taylor and Kelsi were standing outside of the designated meeting place Fanzz, a sporting goods and clothing store, at promptly 1pm. Taylor had her eyes trained on her watch.

"1:01. They're late," Taylor declared.

"Maybe your watch is fast," Kelsi suggested, always liking to see the best in people.

"It can't be. It's synched with Greenwich Mean Time."

"Taylor, chill," Gabriella said.

"Chill? Gabriella, did you just say chill? You've been spending way too much time with Troy."

"When I start calling you dude or man, that's when you can say I've been spending too much time with him," Gabriella responded.

"You did say that they said 1 right?" Taylor confirmed.

"Yes. I spoke to Troy at about 11. He said we're all meeting outside Fanzz at 1, he offered me a lift, I said you girls were going to come over, and that's when we started talking about Jason and…." Gabriella trailed off, realising she'd said too much.

"What about Jason?" Kelsi asked.

Gabriella shot Taylor a panicked look. "Uh… nothing," she said awkwardly. "Just that he's a really nice guy."

Fortunately for Gabriella, Kelsi didn't pick up on Gabriella's discomfort. The truth was that Gabriella had suggested to Troy that she invite Kelsi because she wanted to get to know Kelsi better. And Troy said that it was a great idea particularly because he had the feeling that his mate has a bit of a crush on her.

"Who is a really nice guy?" Troy's voice came from behind.

The girls whirled around to see Troy with Chad, Jason and Zeke in tow.

"Uh… Jeremy. From our decathlon team," Taylor said weakly.

"Yeah! Jeremy. Really nice guy," Gabriella chimed in.

"Is this the same Jeremy who was shitty when I was texting you yesterday?" Troy asked Gabriella, raising his eyebrows suspiciously.

"He's nice but in a totally asexual way," Taylor said hurriedly, sensing Troy's jealousy.

"Pardon me, was that in a sexual way you just said?" Zeke asked.

"Not a sexual. Asexual."

"Sounds kinky," Chad commented.

"Asexuality is when you don't experience attraction towards other beings," Gabriella explained.

"Not so kinky," Jason said.

"Chad, that shirt is revolting," Taylor declared, taking a moment to observe what crazy line Chad had on his shirt that day.

It said 'Your sister is hot, but your mom does that thing with her tongue'.

"Thanks Taylor, you look lovely today too," Chad responded sarcastically.

"Don't be cute with me to try to divert my attention away from the fact that your shirt is completely derogatory."

---

Chad and Taylor's banter had become a staple part of the group dynamics they were gradually forming. Troy rolled his eyes and stepped slightly away from the group, pulling Gabriella with him.

"You look nice," he said with a flirtatious smile.

"A step up from the drowned rat and pink flannel impressions I've been making of late," Gabriella said with a blush.

"You'd look nice in a potato sack Gabriella."

"I'll wear one to school tomorrow and let's see what you think then," she remarked.

---

Meanwhile, Zeke and Jason had also stepped away from the bickering Taylor and Chad to look at the new window display outside of Fanzz, and Kelsi had joined them. Kelsi couldn't have been more surprised to have received Gabriella's call that morning inviting her to hang out with their group that afternoon. She'd enjoyed the time she'd spent helping Troy and Gabriella prepare for the musical; but never had really contemplated that they would want to spend any time socially with her. In fact, Kelsi mostly spent her time alone. She loved her music so much that she would spend many of her lunch times playing piano in the music room and writing. The drama club was just a means to allow her music to be heard. But there were times when Kelsi would sit and listen to the kids at school talk about what they did on the weekend together, and she longed to be a part of that. At both the school after party as well as Jason's party, she had enjoyed the time she had spent with Troy's friends; and Taylor seemed like an awesome girl.

"I didn't know you were going to be here today," Jason said.

Jason felt mixed emotions about Kelsi's presence within their group. Excited that he could hang out with her and get to know her. Uncomfortable because he hadn't expected her to be there and so hadn't thought about what he could talk about with her. Attracted to just how cute she looked in her little blue and green checked beret.

"Yeah, Gabriella called me this morning and asked if I wanted to come. I felt a little weird, seeing as I'm not a part of this whole group. But she seemed fairly insistent that I should come along," Kelsi responded shyly.

---

"Taylor, stop arguing for the sake of arguing," Chad said, after becoming increasingly frustrated with her. "For once, couldn't you just say 'hi Chad, how are you going' instead of criticising something I do or say or wear."

"I don't always…"

"Yeah you do."

Taylor shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed. "Habit I guess."

"Well how about we break those habits?"

Taylor paused. "Hi Chad, how are you going today?" she asked lamely.

"Great, thanks for asking, and how are you?"

"Fine, thank you."

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"I still think your shirt is disgusting though," Taylor said with a grin.

"Okay, that's cool. How about you just say hi to me before you start yelling," Chad suggested.

Taylor laughed. "Deal."

Chad glanced over to where Troy had pulled Gabriella aside. They were standing closely together, hands joined, and Troy was lingering just inches away from her face, whispering something. Chad could see what was coming and rolled his eyes as his mate leaned over to kiss his girl gently.

"Dude, we're in public, we don't need to see this," Chad groaned, yanking Troy away.

Troy glared at Chad. On more than one occasion, he had been forced to watch as Chad made out with various girls. At parties, at movies, hanging out at the pool. So he wasn't impressed with the hypocrisy at all. Chad merely grinned, not caring that he had destroyed the couples cute little moment.

"I'm starving. You guys wanna hit the food court?" Chad called over to where Jason, Zeke and Kelsi were congregating.

Gabriella had never spent a lot of time around boys. She had a few male cousins, most of whom were quite a few years younger and she didn't see that often anyway. The few boys she had spent a lot of time with weren't your typical teenage boys. Instead they were the academically inclined scholastic decathlon team mates Gabriella and fellow chemistry club members or mathletes she had worked with over the years.

Observing teenage boys whilst surrounded by fast food outlets was almost like a supernatural experience, watching as the boys managed to consume supersized versions of meals. And then there was what they simply referred to as "the challenge".

"Jason, you're on," Troy announced.

Troy and Zeke had returned to the table, with a tray from McDonalds which was piled with cheeseburgers.

"What the hell," Taylor whispered to Gabriella.

"We all have personal challenges that we keep trying to improve at. Jason's is to eat as many cheeseburgers as he can without puking," Zeke explained.

"And what are all your challenges?"

"Well, I am aiming to be able to drink a gallon of milk in sixty seconds," Zeke informed them.

"That is physically impossible," Taylor declared.

"It's fun trying though."

"Mine is the fluffy bunny challenge," Troy explained.

The girls exchanged confused glances. "Is that some guy code?" Kelsi asked.

"You guys have never done fluffy bunnies? Oh man… remind me to bring marshmallows to school one day so you girls can try. It's hilarious!" Zeke said enthusiastically.

"And what are they, exactly?" Taylor asked suspiciously.

"Oh it's something you have to see to understand," Jason answered.

"And what about you Chad?" Gabriella asked.

"Mine is plates of food at the all you can eat restaurant on the south side," Chad said. "So far, my record is twelve."

----------

Jason picked up his twenty fourth cheeseburger in about a half hour, and proceeded to scarf it down. Nearly half the burger disappeared in one giant gulp, the rest following within a few bites.

"Come on man, only five to go and you'll have a new record," Zeke encouraged his mate.

"I think the pancakes for breakfast this morning were a bad idea," Jason groaned.

"Nah man, it's all good, eating pancakes is like warming your stomach up," Chad pointed out.

"I think I'm out of cash anyway," Jason said. "I can go to the ATM."

"He's stalling," Troy said. "You know the rules… less than five minutes between burgers or it doesn't count."

"Seriously dude, I'm out of cash. You think McDonald's are going to just hand out the burgers to me?"

Gabriella pulled out her purse, fishing through. She found a five dollar bill.

"Here. My contribution to this "challenge" of yours."

"There we go, that's the spirit," Chad cheered. "Who else?"

"I'm not seeing you lot contribute anything," Taylor remarked as she pulled out her own purse.

"I'm broke," Chad said bluntly.

"I bought the first round!" Zeke said defensively. "What about Troy?"

"I'm kinda low on funds," Troy admitted.

Gabriella narrowed her eyes. _'And he spent nearly fifteen dollars just to get Arnie for me? And bought my dinner? And then paid for all those games?'_

Troy noticed her look, and read her mind. "Shut up."

"I did not say a word," Gabriella protested.

"You were thinking very loudly."

----------

After 32 cheeseburgers, Jason threw in the towel. "I just can't do any more. I'll be sick if I do."

"That's cool man, valiant effort," Troy said admirably.

"Yeah, you smashed your PB," Zeke added.

"That must be like a world record," Kelsi said in awe.

----------

There is an ability which is exclusive to those in their teenage years to loiter about a shopping complex for hours on end, not really doing anything in particular. Random stores will be visited with little purpose other than to walk around and aimlessly look at nothing specific. The boys in their past visits to the mall would follow an unspoken set of rules defining the stores they would visit. They would make their way through the sports gear and collectibles stores, as well any place where electronics, CD and DVD products were sold. Clothing stores were avoided. Shoe stores were avoided. Book stores were avoided. Jewellers were avoided.

The infusion of three girls into their group changed this process somewhat. The girls insisted that if they were going to be forced to look at eight different brands of basketball, then they should be allowed to go look at the clothes section.

This didn't bother Troy in the slightest. He was perfectly happy to escort them, if it meant that he could continue to walk around with Gabriella at his side. He liked being with her in public, he liked being able to walk hand in hand. He didn't even mind when he saw some other guys checking her out because he could just whisper in her ear and kiss her cheek, letting the world know that she was with him.

However some of the other guys – namely Chad – were becoming bored. It was Taylor who had the bright suggestion of an activity which the whole group could enjoy.

"Why don't we head up to the Cinemark and catch a movie. Any objections?"

----------

Less than twenty minutes later, they were crowded around the cinema foyer, examining the movie timetable.

"Return of the Killer Bloodshed Demon!" Chad said immediately.

"Oh snap, I didn't know that was out yet," Jason said enthusiastically.

"What's it about?" Taylor asked.

"It's a horror film," Zeke told her.

"As if I couldn't tell that from the title."

"I love scary movies!" Kelsi exclaimed.

They all turned to stare at her. Of all the people in the group, Kelsi was the least likely pick to be someone to enjoy horror movies.

"What? Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes," they all chorused simultaneously.

"Well I do. So I'm in."

"I don't like scary movies," Gabriella said with a pout.

"I'll protect you," Troy said softly, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and giving her a half hug.

"Why the hell not," Taylor said with a sigh. "There's nothing better playing anyway. Nothing you lot will agree to anyway."

----------

The cinema was fairly busy, and they'd arrived as the previews already began to play. There didn't seem to be a big enough set of seats together.

"We'll go back here, won't we Taylor? It's cool, you guys go there," Chad whispered, motioning to where there was one of the side rows of six available.

Chad grabbed onto Taylor's hand and led her towards the back.

Troy led the group into the row, sitting closest to the wall. Kelsi followed, but left a seat between Troy and herself, motioning for Gabriella to sit there. Gabriella smiled gratefully at Kelsi.

As the opening credits began to roll. There was some chilling music playing, with the credits flashing over a pan of a scary forest. Troy glanced over to see Gabriella was clutching onto the arm rests.

"Do you actually get really freaked out?" Troy asked softly.

She nodded ever so slightly. Troy pried her hand from the rest, entwining his fingers with hers and gave her hand a squeeze. "It'll be okay," he said comfortingly.

With the very first flash of the killer's knife, Gabriella's grip on Troy's hand tightened. As the first victim's final blood curling scream rang through the cinema, Gabriella jumped and her free hand came across to cling onto Troy's upper arm. By the end of the movie, the arm rest separating them had been pushed up, and Gabriella was clinging to Troy, an arm wrapped around his torso and her face was buried into his chest. His arm was around her, holding her tight. Troy felt bad that she was so terrified, but nevertheless he found it utterly adorable. There was something romantic about having a girl cling to him in fear, seeking comfort and protection from the warmth of his arms.

---

"The movie is over," Troy said softly as the end credits began to roll.

Gabriella had hardly watched a thing in the last half hour of the film.

"Promise?" Came her muffled reply, buried into his shirt.

"Promise."

Gabriella slowly retracted herself from Troy's arms.

"That was awesome!" Kelsi exclaimed.

Chad and Taylor came down from the back to meet the rest of the group. Troy had to stifle a laugh. He casually brought his hand up to his lips, motioning to Chad that he had lipstick marks. Chad just grinned in return.

"We're going to the bathroom," Taylor announced, linking arms with Gabriella. "Kelsi, do you want to come?"

"Okay," Kelsi said agreeably, looking forward to being included in the gossip session.

"What is with girls going to the toilet in groups?" Jason pondered out loud.

"One of life's never to be answered questions," Zeke responded.

----------

Soon after the movie, the group broke apart and headed to their requisite homes. Gabriella and Taylor went together, with Gabriella joining Taylor's family for dinner so the girls could work on an assignment together that night. Well the plan was to work on an assignment. If the assignment was a human behaviour essay requiring focus group discussion about boys, then they certainly would have accomplished a lot.

"I'm really sorry about Chad dragging me off. We should have sent you and Troy up the back alone," Taylor said with a teasing grin.

Gabriella shrugged. "It's fine hey. I uh… I don't think that Troy and I would have utilised the privacy to its full potential anyway."

"Are you being serious? You guys are so… there. You're like this!" Taylor held up her hand with her middle and index finger crossed. "You're telling me that you wouldn't have been doing exactly what Chad and I were doing?"

"Very unlikely," Gabriella responded firmly.

"You have…. You have kissed though right?"

"Lots of times!" Gabriella said immediately. "Just not…. Like that… with the…"

"No tongue at all?" Taylor asked incredulously.

"Once… a little… I pulled away. He says it's fine but I know he must be thinking I'm the biggest loser or something," Gabriella said, feeling a little ashamed.

"And you pulled away why?"

"Coz."

"Very astute Gabriella."

Gabriella sighed. "Because… because I haven't kissed anyone like that before."

"Never? Never ever?" Taylor was blown away.

"Never ever," Gabriella confirmed.

"Who were all these moron boys you've been to school with everywhere else? Are they blind? I don't mean to sound lesbian but you're gorgeous Gabriella, you're like the complete perfect package."

Gabriella felt a little uncomfortable. "I wouldn't say that. I guess I've always been shy, I've hardly lived one place long enough to make good friends, let alone boyfriends. So anyway… the point is that I don't know what to do."

"It's going to have to happen sooner rather than later. You do want it to don't you?"

"Of course!" Gabriella said with conviction.

"Then just get it over with. Let him take control of it. It will come naturally, trust me," Taylor advised.

For Gabriella, kissing Troy wasn't just about kissing Troy. It was about letting down a guard, a barrier, which she'd gradually built over the years; it was about trusting herself with someone; it was about taking gentle flirtations to a deeper level. A level which Gabriella was still wary as to whether Troy was really prepared to go to.

She'd had a lot of unique experiences growing up. Her introverted nature had been exacerbated by her constant moving around the country, finding it difficult to develop friendships with people who could appreciate her as being more than just the freaky math girl. Her relationships with boys had been non existent. The only sense of control that Gabriella had over her crazy existence was formed by maintaining strong independence. Independence which was most easily maintained by being in complete control of every word she spoke, every situation she encountered, every action she took. Control which she was finding gradually slipping away the deeper that she felt for Troy.

Gabriella knew that Taylor was right, and that she was being silly about the whole situation. The truth was that she regretted pulling away. But she had been taken by surprise when he had slipped his tongue in, and it was just one of those gut instincts that she had followed, not really knowing why. Gabriella tended to complicate things by over analysing the situation, and creating reasons to not do something which she otherwise would really want to do.

She wanted to kiss Troy, to really kiss him. She wanted to be able to see where things could go with him. Then and there, Gabriella made the decision that not only was she not going to pull away next time. And Gabriella Montez tended to live by her convictions. All that remained was a question of timing, of when the opportunity would present itself.

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yeah so it was a bit crap. Actually the next chapter is a bit random as well but I like it a tad more than this one. So… I'll give you a preview but the next chapter is like four or five mini mini bits of the beginning of the next week randomly chucked together so it's only really a preview of one tiny bit of the chapter. Meh.**

_**PREVIEW – CHAPTER 20**_

"_I like how our dating schedule is being planned for us without our input or consent," Gabriella remarked._

"_What, do you have another hot date planned Gab?" Chad asked with a grin._


	20. The Ruler Incident, et al

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **

**1. Get well soon Zac… **

**2. Thanks to troyellaisbomb for something she said in her review, it made me realise I totally flaked and didn't mention something in my previous AN. Do you guys know whatfluffy bunnies are? (ie. The marshmallow challenge with Troy? - which are apparently also known as 'chubby bunnies') Basically it's putting a marshmallow in your mouth, not chewing, and saying '1 fluffy bunny' putting another in and saying '2 fluffy bunnies' and you continue the process until it's really really funny and you're about to spew marshmallows everywhere. (Would you know that I'm 22 from this… haha). I knew this girl who could do like fifteen with those really really big marshmallows. She became very popular with the boys who knew about this ability she possessed, if you know what I mean. **

**3. This chapter is also a bit random. A bunch of semi joining semi disjointed bits and pieces of the next few days just to move the story along. **

----------

**Chapter 20 – The Ruler Incident et al.**

'_If I had a rose for every time I thought of you, I'd be picking roses for a lifetime.__'_

----------

Taylor, Martha and Gabriella were crowded around one end of the lunch table on Monday, each of them with their school diaries out, consulting schedules.

"So let me get this straight… after school tomorrow, before school Wednesday and lunch Wednesday, Thursday after school, Friday before school," Martha read out loud from her diary.

Taylor nodded, confirming what she had said was accurate. "Yes, that's right."

"I feel like I'm behind the mark in comparison to you guys. I mean you've been practicing together for over a month," Martha said, clearly worried. "I don't want to let the team down."

"You were on fire on Saturday," Gabriella assured her. "In terms of the actual content you're fine. The only aspect you might possibly need more work on is actually on the techniques specific to decathlons and answering questions in the format they ask them in. Let's see how we go after school tomorrow, and if you're still worried, I can meet up with you some extra time to go over some stuff."

"Like you have any free time," Troy scoffed from his place next to Gabriella.

"Well I'll just have to make time between now and Friday if necessary then," Gabriella countered.

"So this is the third round?" Chad asked.

"Yeah. After this round, the top four teams go into the city finals," Taylor answered.

"Jase… Jase…" Chad said, trying to get his mates attention.

Chad realised where Jason was looking and nudged Troy, gesturing to watch where Jason was looking. Kelsi was coming out of the cafeteria line with her tray of food.

"Hey Kelsi!" Troy yelled.

Kelsi looked up to see both Troy and Chad motioning for her to come over. Shyly, but willingly, she headed over in their direction.

"Come sit with us. I wanted to ask you some stuff about one of the songs," Troy said.

"Sure," Kelsi said brightly. She always liked to make herself available to help out the cast members with their songs, in particular Troy and Gabriella who had been really nice to her.

"Do you always sit with Ryan and Sharpay and the drama people?" Gabriella asked.

"If I'm not in the music room, yeah. I don't talk to them a lot though. I usually just sit there and write my music."

"You should hang with us down here more often," Jason suggested casually.

The boys exchanged knowing glances.

Kelsi smiled shyly. "Maybe I should."

"The movie yesterday was off the hook hey?" Zeke commented.

"Some of the camera work was a bit dodgy," Jason observed.

"We should go to the movies again sometime," Taylor suggested.

"Definitely," Jason agreed, smiling at Kelsi. "Another horror flick I say."

"No horror movies ever again," Gabriella said insistently.

"How about Saturday? Bolton? Gabs?" Chad asked.

"Don't be silly, they'll be busy Saturday night," Taylor answered.

"What could Troy and Gabriella be doing that doesn't involve us?" Jason asked, not understanding what Taylor was inferring.

"There's a nice spot in the back row of the cinema I can recommend to you guys," Chad said slyly, glancing sideways at Taylor.

"The miniature golf course just had a renovation, they have cheap deals for students," Taylor pointed out.

"I like how our dating schedule is being planned for us without our input or consent," Gabriella remarked.

"What, do you have another hot date planned Gab?" Chad asked with a grin.

Troy narrowed his eyes at that comment, not impressed in the slightest.

"Gabriella, would you like to do something on Saturday night?" Troy asked softly, squeezing her hand.

"Sounds great," Gabriella replied with a grin. "Should I ask you what we could do, or should I ask Taylor and Chad?"

"Just don't take her to McDonalds," Taylor advised.

"Why on earth do you think I would take her to McDonalds?" Troy asked. "Do you think that I have no imagination whatsoever?"

"Hey McDonalds is a great place for a date, didn't I tell you about the time Hannah and I were in the ball pit…" Taylor was glaring at Chad, which he noticed and trailed off. "Maybe this is a story for a time when it's us dudes around."

"I think so." Troy turned back to Gabriella. "How about disco bowling?"

---

Meanwhile, Jason had turned away from their conversation and started his own with Kelsi.

"You play four instruments?" Jason asked incredulously.

"Yup. Piano, guitar, violin and the clarinet."

"I've always wanted to learn guitar," Jason said.

"I could teach you!" Kelsi said enthusiastically.

"Really?"

"Yeah sure. Here. We'll have our first lesson now! Does anyone have a ruler?" Kelsi asked the group in general.

"Sure, give me a sec," Gabriella replied, pulling out her pencil case. "Here you go."

Kelsi handed it to Jason, and was about to instruct him to hold it when Gabriella suddenly reached out and snatched it back.

"Actually no. You can't borrow it," she said quickly.

Jason furrowed his eyebrows, and reached back out for the ruler. "Why not?"

"I just don't want you to," Gabriella said, her annoyance evident.

A tug of war between Gabriella and Jason ensued.

"Wow you're strong for such a tiny person," Jason grunted as he tried to yank it out of her grasp.

"Jason, I said you can't borrow my ruler. I'm sure Tay has a ruler you can borrow. What's the big deal?" Gabriella whined as she tried to pull it out of his grasp.

"What's the big deal about your damn ruler?"

"Nothing!" Gabriella insisted.

"Well obviously you don't want me to see it for a reason," he responded.

He finally pulled it out of her grasp and Gabriella kept trying to grab at it. By now everyone at their table was watching in amusement – Troy watching suspiciously as the two tousled fairly closely. Finally Chad intervened on behalf of his mate and grabbed the ruler. Gabriella ran after Chad to grab it, and Chad threw it back to Jason. He scanned along, trying to work out what Gabriella was being so stupid about. He turned it over, immediately seeing why she was being so weird.

"That's so cute," Jason said with a laugh. "Chad, come look man."

On the back of the ruler, Gabriella had stuck one of the sticker photos from Friday night, and next to the photo she had drawn a heart and written inside the heart -

**GM **

**4 **

**TB**

Troy watched as Gabriella conceded defeat but took at seat at the end of the table, putting her head down on the desk. She was mortified. Taylor and Martha were trying to talk to her – trying being the operative word. Troy went over to the boys to try and work out what the fuss was about.

"What the fuck did you do to upset Gabriella?" Troy asked irritably.

"She's cut coz I saw this. Gabriella, chill, we think it's cute," Jason called out.

Troy looked at the ruler, and immediately a smile came to his face. He grabbed it out of Jason's hands and went over to where he'd thrown his bag on the ground and retrieved his school diary from the bag. He then went over and sat next to Gabriella.

"Ga-bi,' Troy said in a singsong voice, carefully placing the ruler back down in front of her.

"Go away," Gabriella said, her voice muffled.

"Look at me Gabriella."

"I'm embarrassed. I said go away."

"Why are you embarrassed?" Troy prodded.

She turned her head to look at him, still keeping her head down on the table resting on her arms.

"Because now you probably think I'm some stalker fan girl or something."

Troy rolled his eyes and put his diary on the desk in front of her. "Open it. Look in the front cover."

Gabriella looked at him suspiciously but complied. Her mouth dropped open in surprise. Troy had one of the sticker photos on the back of the cover.

"Oh," Gabriella said softly.

"And now go to December 31," Troy prodded.

She followed his directions, and saw that the date was circled.

"And now turn the page."

Gabriella discovered that every major landmark since they'd known each other was identified in one way or another – whether it be indirectly with a day of the week circled; or directly with 'Pick Gabriella up at 6:30'. Troy also had her look ahead of time – two weeks before her birthday, he had written on the weekend in giant letters 'BUY GABRIELLA'S BIRTHDAY PRESENT'.

"So if you're stalker fan girl then you can just call me stalker fan boy if you like," Troy said softly.

Gabriella blushed, and handed the diary back to him. She wasn't sure what to say, she was rather taken aback by it. So instead she chose to express her thoughts with action – and threw her arms around him in a tight hug, and kissing him softly on the cheek.

----------

If there was one place that Troy Bolton never expected he would be, it was in a room surrounded by flowers. Seeing as it was Monday the 13th of February, he wasn't the only bewildered male standing in the florist. No wonder they were bewildered. There were almost a dozen colours of roses. You could buy them singularly, in bunches of different numbers. And tacked up on the walls were posters outlining symbolic meanings behind the flowers, the number you give, the stage of bloom…

"Can I help you sweetheart?" a voice came from behind him.

Troy spun around and saw one of the shopkeepers, an elderly woman with a kind smile on her face. Her name tag read 'Beverly'.

"Maybe… I just wanted to buy a rose… but now I'm seeing it's more complicated than that," Troy said, gesturing towards the informational posters.

She laughed. "Not really. Who are you looking to buy a rose for? Your girlfriend?"

Troy hesitated. It was strange talking about his love life with not only a complete stranger, but with a grandmotherly type at that. "Yes… no…maybe. We've gone out a few times… She's very special to me."

Beverly had helped many young men with their selections that day. Some of them she almost wanted to refuse service to – they made it seem like they were fulfilling an obligation. But this young man struck her as someone who very deeply and genuinely cared about the gesture he was making.

"Well, these pink flowers here might be ideal. Red is generally reserved for deep love and passion. Pink symbolises a few things……"

----------

When Gabriella arrived at school the following morning, only Taylor remained out the front waiting for her. Little did Gabriella know, Taylor had been pulled aside by Troy the minute she arrived at school and enlisted to perform a task.

"Come on," Taylor said. "We have to go to your locker."

Gabriella was confused. "But I don't need anything now, I have my books for both first and second."

"Doesn't matter. Let's go."

Taylor pulled Gabriella by the arm in the direction of her locker, Gabriella protesting the whole way. Taylor paused just up the hallway.

"Go open your locker," Taylor instructed.

"But Tay…"

"Gabriella go open your damn locker all right!" Taylor said, feeling rather exasperated.

Gabriella approached her locker furtively. She spun the combination and hesitantly opened the door. She gasped immediately. Scattered throughout her locker were the petals from pink roses. A small card sat in the middle, the front depicting a cute little silver bear holding onto a flower. Gabriella opened the card.

'_If I had a rose for every time I thought of you, I'd be picking roses for a lifetime.__ Love, Troy.'_

A voice spoke from behind her.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

She spun around, seeing Troy waiting coyly. He was holding a single purple rose.

"For you," he said, and took a step towards her to kiss her on the cheek.

"Oh Troy…"

"It's too much, isn't it?" Troy said, self consciously "I should have just given you this rose. Now your locker is going to smell like roses for the rest of the year."

"I love the smell of roses. And it will remind me of you." She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, and whispered softly into his ear, "Thank you."

"The pink roses… they represent happiness… which you make me feel… and gratefulness… which I am for having you in my life… and they also represent something new… like a new romance. And… the purple…"

"Is when you fall for someone instantly… enchantment…" Gabriella finished for him.

"So one of the many layers to Gabriella Montez is a knowledge of horticulture," Troy remarked

"I find it more interesting that you know horticulture Mr Bolton."

"I spent a while at the florist," Troy admitted sheepishly.

----------

Taylor had watched the little moment her friends were sharing from the other end of the hallway, smiling wistfully. She turned and headed towards homeroom, stopping at her own locker and the bathroom along the way.

Immediately upon entering the room, Taylor spotted what was out of place in the picture. A single, long stemmed pink rose was on her desk.

"Oh," she said softly, halting just inside the door.

With Taylor's pitstops, Troy and Gabriella had caught up and came into the room less than a minute later. Gabriella was carrying her purple rose with her.

"Troy? Do you know anything about this?" Taylor demanded, gesturing towards her desk.

Troy held his hands up in the front of him, palms facing up. "Not a clue Taylor, really."

Taylor sat down at her place, gently picking up the flower and smelling it.

Chad came into the room less than two minutes before the bell rang. He kept his eyes fixated on the floor, not making eye contact with anyone.

"Chad?" Taylor enquired shyly. "Was this from you?"

She didn't like to be presumptuous but realistically, there was no one else who Taylor would even slightly suspect would be giving her a rose for Valentine's Day. Chad didn't say anything, he merely turned around and gave her a small smile in acknowledgement, before turning back to pretend to be immersed in a textbook.

----------

The rest of Tuesday and then Wednesday flew by, with Gabriella's spare time being consumed with preparations for the scholastic decathlon. Gabriella rushed into rehearsal on Wednesday after school in a fluster, she had been talking with Taylor about their meeting the following day and wound up arriving five minutes late – a sin in the world of Miss Darbus.

"How nice of you to join us Miss Montez," Miss Darbus announced loudly as Gabriella rushed into the room. "If you would like to work with Miss Holden on your scene."

Gabriella nodded, ducking her head. Troy was sitting with Kelsi at the piano, and flashed Gabriella a consoling smile. He knew how much Gabriella hated disappointing people, particularly by being late. She smiled back, and found Katie in one of the rehearsal rooms out the back. Katie was playing Gabriella's sister Tina in the musical, the two of them having a one on one scene at the beginning of the show.

"Hey!" Katie said brightly. "Ready to rehearse?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yup. Sorry I'm late."

"It's cool, no worries."

The girls were rehearsing for about half an hour when Troy came up, waiting until they finished the scene and then approaching.

"Looking good ladies," he complimented, and then turned to Gabriella, touching her lightly on the arm as he spoke. "Miss Darbus said for you guys to keep at this for another fifteen minutes, and then you and I are supposed to go find her. She wants to see how Bop to the Top is coming along."

Gabriella nodded. "Sure."

Katie watched slyly as Troy grinned at Gabriella and then headed back to the stage area.

"So… how are things with your boyfriend?" Katie asked slyly.

"He's not my…" Gabriella's response was automatic, but then she stopped herself. "It's fine."

It was then that it hit Gabriella how little their relationship had been defined. They'd only had two dates. They hadn't even kissed properly yet. And yet here he was, giving her a Valentine's Day rose, putting stickers in his diary – looking months ahead to her birthday, labelling in his diary that he would need to buy a present. She inwardly sighed. Yet another complicated facet to the world of boys and dating.

----------

The rest of rehearsal ran without any major dramas. Miss Darbus always stayed back after the rehearsal so people could approach her with any questions and to just generally tidy up the area. Gabriella approached the older woman with hesitation, Troy in tow. Sharpay and Ryan were also waiting back to talk to Miss Darbus, so were within earshot for the conversation that followed.

"Um, Miss Darbus?" Gabriella said tentatively. "I know this is last minute but I completely forgot to tell you that I can't make Friday's rehearsal."

"Pardon?" Miss Darbus said, not particularly happy with this piece of information.

"We have the third round of the scholastic decathlon on Friday at 3:30," Gabriella elaborated.

"First she is late today, and now Gabriella can't come on Friday? Obviously there is a lack of commitment to this production," Sharpay said haughtily.

Miss Darbus sighed. Sharpay's dedication to the theatre had been consistent throughout her time at East High. It was difficult because whereas she admired this within Sharpay, the right people for the roles of Minnie and Arnold had been given the parts, and were coming along very nicely with their preparations. Although she would never admit it out loud, especially not with Jack Bolton in the room, she admired both Troy and Gabriella. It was inspirational for a drama teacher to have students from outside the program being inspired to follow their creative urges.

"Gabriella and I can meet up and work on anything you want us to in replacement of the time she would spend on Friday," Troy suggested. Gabriella shot him a grateful smile.

"Work on your solo over the weekend," Miss Darbus instructed Gabriella. "The plan was to have you work with Kelsi on Friday on the harmony and melody, and then Monday work on the movement to accompany the song."

Kelsi had been pottering by the piano, collecting her sheet music. She perked up hearing her name, and cleared her throat to make her presence known.

"I've already been through it with Gabriella once, so if we spend some time in our drama class Friday on the song, then she will be fine to work on it alone," Kelsi inputted. She then looked at Gabriella. "If you like you can call me any time over the weekend and we can go over anything. Or get together before rehearsal on Monday."

Kelsi was the number one supporter of the Troy and Gabriella camp. Most of the drama club had taken their time coming around to be in complete support of the pair. It was somewhat annoying, that they dedicated a lot of time into the schools drama program and that the two of them had come in out of the blue and taken the lead roles. There were many members of the drama club who fantasised about the day that they would be able to beat out Ryan and Sharpay for lead roles. Kelsi didn't care about any of that – she wasn't in the club to be an actress or singer. She was in the club because she loved music, and she loved being able to use her music to tell a story. Gabriella and Troy had proven that they had the ability to deliver that message. She was willing to do anything to ensure that they succeeded in their roles.

----------

"I really thought Miss Darbus was going to flip out," Gabriella commented to Troy as they headed home after rehearsal.

"She kind of did," Troy pointed out. "But between me and Kels, we calmed her down for you."

"Thank you for that," Gabriella said earnestly.

"It's no biggie. You know I enjoy rehearsing with you, so even if Miss Darbus had demanded we rehearse all weekend long I wouldn't have minded."

"Even though we'd miss out on disco bowling?" Gabriella teased.

"There would always be next weekend," Troy said, with no hesitation.

"Yes, yes there would."

Gabriella smiled to herself, taking comfort in the presumption that Troy had made.

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE - I hate working out how to end each chapter... I want it to be cute or dramatic or heartwarming but without being too cheesy.**

**So it's my birthday today… I'm 22. Yay for me. As a birthday present to myself, I updated earlier than normal haha. I usually update in the morning my time; being in the afternoon US time. But here I am updating in the early evening my time! So could you all pretty pretty please give me the best birthday present possible and leave me a review. Even if you've never left a review before in your life – I think that that today is the day you can come out of the shadows and just hit the button and say something, anything at all… I'm being completely self indulgent here, I've kinda had a crap day so your reviews would make me feel a whole lot better! **

----------

_**Preview for Chapter 21…**_

"_And here is my room," Gabriella announced loudly for her mothers benefit, and then added in a whisper, "which you have never seen of course."_

_Troy smiled mischievously. "And so here we have where the freaky math girl studies her freaky math."_

"_And as of late, has visits from sexy basketballers late at night," Gabriella giggled._

"_Sexy?" Troy enquired, taking a step towards her._


	21. Silver Moon Sparkling

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. I do not have association with Sixpence None the Richer or the creators, writers, actors, producers etc. of 'Grease'**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: There is a ridiculously long authors note at the conclusion of this chapter that I would really appreciate it if you read.**

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**Chapter 21 – Silver Moon Sparkling**

_Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight_

_Lead me out on the moonlit floor_

_Lift your open hand_

_Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance_

_Silver moon sparkling_

_So kiss me_

_- Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer_

----------

Friday morning at 7am, the East High scholastic decathlon team were seated in the science lab they typically met to practice in. Littered across the benches were textbooks, pens, pencils, paper, rulers, calculators, beakers, Bunsen burners, compasses and a whole lot more.

Taylor had directed a great deal of time and energy into creating the ideal team for the scholastic decathlon. She sourced team members not only from the Chemistry Club, of which she was president, but from other speciality areas. She had participated in the competition the year before and heard stories from the year before that. East High seemed to always field a team strong with science and maths, and solid with other disciplines. However they needed to be more than solid. Between herself, Gabriella, Freddie, Jeremy, Jenna, Casey, Kim and Karen, they studied and excelled in nearly every mainstream subject in American high schools. And Martha was an ideal replacement for Freddie in his absence, not only was she intelligent in a broad range of subjects, but her strengths lay in the humanities, as did Freddie's.

Mr Davis, the head of department from the mathematics faculty was the team supervisor. However the nature of the contest was one where the students were to prepare independently from direct teacher assistance. Gabriella therefore had taken on a big role in helping her team mates to prepare. Gabriella's previous experience in the scholastic decathlon competition – having been a key member of the national champions the previous season – was invaluable to the East High team.

In the first round, Taylor suspected that maybe she'd come up with a winning formula in her team selection. They'd done incredibly well in each of the ten segments. But she'd been afraid it was just luck. But now in the second round when East High went into the lead from the beginning and only increased the winning margin further as the competition went on, Taylor couldn't help but look around at her team mates that morning and believe that maybe, just maybe, they could do really well this year.

"Guys, we are so ready for this," Taylor said confidently. "I can just feel it. Can't you feel it? Can't you feel that we're ready?"

The team looked back at her dubiously. "Uh… I feel a little cold," Jeremy said meekly.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Taylor's right, there's nothing else we can do to prepare. We are ready."

"Should we meet at lunch?" Martha asked.

Gabriella shook her head. "No. Guys, you're all so tense – you need to relax. If you're stressed then you're not going to be able to think efficiently. So we're not meeting at lunch.

----------

Despite Taylor's early morning confidence, her nerves got the better of her and by lunchtime, she was a wreck.

Gabriella came into the lunch area after going through the cafeteria line, and sat down next to Troy. Taylor was across the table, eyes closed, muttering to herself.

"Uh Tay?" she asked tentatively.

"I wouldn't," Chad warned. "I tried to talk to her before and she snapped at me."

"Oh my God… I can't remember the 19th element on the periodic table…" Taylor said suddenly, her voice filled with horror.

"It's potassium. You need to calm down," Gabriella said soothingly.

"Says she who was in the team who won the national championships in her sophomore year," Taylor replied bitterly.

"Taylor, we are ready for this. There's nothing more you can do."

"You don't get it Gabriella. This is my thing. Science, math, history. Being smart. It's all I have. But I don't even do that brilliantly. I mean maybe in comparison to lots of people I do but then there are people like… well, like **you** out there. And I don't even begin to compare. We never made it past the first round until you came here. I don't want you to be pulling the team through – I need to be a part of it."

"This is a team competition. If I got everything right and you guys got everything wrong, then we wouldn't make it through. We didn't win the first round because of me – it was because of the whole team. And because of you – because you inspired everyone and motivated everyone to work really hard to prepare. Just like you've done this round."

Taylor nodded, close to welling up. Spontaneously, she threw her arms around her friend, hugging Gabriella tightly.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

There are some people in the world that you forge an instant connection with. Kindred spirits or bosom friends as Anne Shirley might call them. In that moment, Taylor was reminded that Gabriella was one of those people. Someone who had come into her life and was able to say all the right things at the right time to make the world seem like a better place.

----------

"Welcome to the third round of the Albuquerque division of the National Scholastic Decathlon Competition," the chairperson announced. "Competing this evening we have East High School against Albuquerque Girls College."

----------

East High were in the lead by 25 points at the half time twenty minute break. It was a crucial time to be in the lead, because following the break was the round where the teams would take turns picking from subject areas; the team in the lead being able to select first. Once a subject area had been selected it was no longer available. So there was a positive vibe among the East High team.

Gabriella had the biggest surprise of her life when she saw Troy step into the room, glancing around tentatively. She headed towards him. Troy broke into a grin seeing that she had spotted him.

"What are you doing here?" Gabriella asked, clearly shocked.

"Darbus gave us an early mark. I think she was going to see a play tonight. My dad is at a meeting so I thought I'd hang around and wait for him to get a lift and where better to hang out than trying to soak up some knowledge by watching the smartest kids in school at work. Looks like you guys are going well."

"I never count my chickens before they hatch," Gabriella said.

"Right… I'm getting weird mental pictures of you laying eggs," Troy joked.

Gabriella giggled. "Listen I have to get back to my team."

"It's cool. You go. Good luck."

"Thanks," Gabriella said gratefully.

"If everyone could take their seats, we will be recommencing the proceedings in just a few minutes," the announcer declared.

Miss Montez saw Troy glancing around, trying to decide where to take a seat. She waved to him, beckoning him to come sit with her. Troy smiled gratefully and went over.

"Hi Miss Montez," Troy said. "Rehearsals finished early so I thought I'd come see what all this is about."

Elena smiled. "Prepare to be astonished. I've come to almost a dozen of these things and I never fail to be blown away by just how brilliant these kids are."

Elena was right. Troy was completely mesmerised. It was like a cross between a sports match and a game show, with school work that was far, far above his head forming the questions. During written questions, he could barely keep up reading what was being written by the contestants on the whiteboard before they would finish. He would still be trying to comprehend what the questions were being asked and they would already be answered and have moved onto the next question.

Despite the fact that he understood very little of what was going on, it was gripping. You could feel the tension in the room. Looking at Gabriella, he saw the glint in her eye. The competitive glint. He recognised it as being just like how he felt in relation to basketball. He knew that Gabriella was in her element. It fascinated him how smart she was. How her brain worked, to just be able to so easily work out these solutions. To reel off facts and figures and information with diligence and passion.

Following each triumphant question, she would very genuinely shake the hand of her competitor, congratulating them on a good job. It was like a light switch, flicking on and off between nice, polite Gabriella; and steely, competitive Gabriella.

----------

The East High team was surrounded by teachers, friends and parents as they celebrated their victory.

"Oh my God we're in the Albuquerque final," Taylor repeated over and over in complete disbelief.

Troy observed the scene from afar for a moment, and then went down to join the celebration. He gave Taylor a quick hug and congratulations before touching Gabriella's arm gently. She had been in a conversation with Kim and her parents. She turned around, beaming happily at him.

"Congratulations Wildcat," Troy said with a grin, hugging her tightly.

"Thank you," Gabriella responded with a giggle.

"My dad just messaged me, he wants me to go meet him at his office now, so I can't stay and talk. But seriously, you guys were amazing, I am so, so proud."

"Thank you for coming, sorry if you found it boring," Gabriella said apologetically.

"It wasn't," Troy said genuinely. "Not in the slightest. Anyway, I'll call you later on okay?"

Troy called out his congratulations to the rest of the team before heading out the door. Gabriella watched after him, but her faraway gaze was broken when she was almost knocked over by Taylor giving her an excited hug.

"Oh my God we're in the Albuquerque final," Taylor squealed.

Gabriella laughed. "Yes, you've said that already."

Elena Montez came over at that moment after being in a conversation with some of Gabriella's teachers.

"Miss Montez, I just wanted to thank you for moving to Albuquerque and bringing Gabriella into my life," Taylor gushed.

Elena laughed. "I'll pass on the thank you to my company for transferring me here."

"My mom wants to take me out to dinner – a celebration thing. I know I suggested that we hang out tonight – but I have to bail," Taylor said regretfully to Gabriella.

Gabriella smiled. "It's okay, I know how it is."

"I feel bad though… "

"Well you should," Gabriella joked. "No really – you enjoy your dinner."

----------

Two hours later, Gabriella was sitting at home alone in her room. It seemed kind of depressing really, she was so excited about their win and she was disappointed that her tentative plans with Taylor had gone out the window. Still, there was a silver lining in the form of her ringing phone, and the familiar photo which popped up on the screen.

"Hey," Gabriella said, pleased that he had called.

"Hello there miss. You should be out celebrating, not answering your phone."

"Should be. Tay and I were going to hang but she had a family thing."

"That sucks. But it also works out well for me because I am bored out of my mind," Troy informed her.

"So that's all I am to you, someone to talk to when you need to pass the time?" Gabriella joked.

"Now you KNOW that's not true!" Troy insisted.

"Don't you have any homework?" Gabriella asked.

"Not really. Not a lot. Besides, I don't feel like doing homework."

"You could practice your dancing," she suggested with a giggle.

"After this afternoon, no thank you," Troy said with a shudder. "I hope I never have to endure Sharpay's instruction without you by my side ever, ever again." He then had an idea come into his head, not sure if it would fly but figured it was worth a shot. "I'm sick of my house. I feel claustrophobic here at the moment. Maybe… can I come over to yours?"

Gabriella paused. "Oh… I don't know…"

"We could just watch a movie. Okay, so you don't want me sneaking onto your balcony, that's fair enough. But I'm suggesting downstairs, in the living room."

She sighed. Gabriella would be lying if she said that she didn't want to see Troy. She always wanted to see him. And she too didn't particularly feel like doing any homework. She had spent the whole afternoon exercising her brain. "Let me go ask my Mom. I'll call you back, okay?"

"Excellent!"

"Don't get too excited, she hasn't said yes yet," Gabriella warned, before hanging up.

Gabriella took a deep breath and headed down the stairs to where her mother was filling out some paperwork in the study.

"Mommy?" she asked sweetly.

Miss Montez looked up sharply. Gabriella only said mommy in two situations – when she was scared, or when she wanted something. "Yes Gabi?"

"Umm… would you mind if Troy came over and we watched a movie?"

"Didn't you just get home from seeing Troy?"

"Yeah but…"

It delighted Miss Montez that her daughter was coming out of her shell, making real friends. She even didn't mind that she was dating – well, not much anyway. She'd only met Troy a few times, but what she'd seen so far she approved of very much. And she much preferred the idea of the two of them spending some time under her watch than gallivanting about at night all the time.

"Okay. Just make sure that Troy's parents know he is here," she agreed.

Gabriella quickly called Troy back.

"She said yes," Gabriella informed him.

"Okay see you soon," Troy said, and hung up.

Approximately seven and half minutes later, the doorbell rang. Gabriella expected soon to be more like half an hour – she had been planning to go change her clothes and fix her hair up.

"Holy crap you were fast," Gabriella said, opening the door.

"I rode my bike," he motioned to where his bicycle was on the lawn.

"I didn't even have time to fix my hair," Gabriella complained, bringing her hand up to tuck strands of haphazard hair behind her ears self consciously.

"You look beautiful the way you are," Troy declared, as he stepped into the house and slipped off his Vans. "Anyway I wasn't sure what movies you have so I brought a bunch with me."

Elena Montez came out of the study upon hearing voices in the hallway.

"Hello again Troy," she greeted him with a smile.

"Hi Miss Montez," Troy greeted her.

"Gabriella, you never showed Troy around the house when he was here last weekend," Elena pointed out.

Troy grinned, finding it amusing that Gabriella's mom, just like his own, had prompted her to show her guest around. In a similar fashion to the tour that Troy had provided of his own house, Gabriella showed Troy the dining and living areas, kitchen, her mom's study, and then headed up the stairs.

"And here is my room," Gabriella announced loudly for her mothers benefit, and then added in a whisper, "which you have never seen of course."

Troy smiled mischievously. "And so here we have where the freaky math girl studies her freaky math."

"And as of late, has visits from sexy basketballers late at night," Gabriella giggled.

"Sexy?" Troy enquired, taking a step towards her. He placed his hands on her waist, and went to lean forward to kiss her.

"Gabriella!!" a voice called up the stairs.

Gabriella quickly stepped away from Troy, rolling her eyes. Way to ruin the moment.

"Yes mom?" she called back.

"I'm putting out some snacks for you two in the living room!"

"This is her hinting that she wants us within earshot downstairs," Gabriella said softly to Troy with a sigh punctuating the sentence.

"Then I think that we should comply and go back down."

"You just want to impress my mom."

"You're exactly right," he replied bluntly.

She giggled and led Troy back downstairs. Her mom, in a very mom-ish fashion, had left chips and lollies, as well as apple and carrot slices, on a tray on the living room coffee table. Elena came back into the room and put down two glasses and a bottle of soft drink.

"I'm just going to be in the study if you need anything," Elena told them.

"Thank you so much Miss Montez, this looks fantastic," Troy said politely.

Troy pulled a bunch of DVDs out of his bag. "I don't own a lot that you would like. But luckily my mom really likes movies so I raided her collection."

Gabriella pored over the selection. "Oooh Grease!" she exclaimed. "I haven't seen this in ages!"

"More singing and dancing?" Troy asked with a groan.

"You wouldn't have brought it if you really hated it that much."

"Damn you for always being right Gabriella Montez."

Gabriella smiled cheekily as she popped the DVD into the player. She then seated herself on the couch, patting the seat next to her for Troy to join her. Without a thought or a moment of contemplation, the couple joined hands, fingers entwining.

----------

Danny was in the midst of singing 'Oh Sandy' at the drive-in when Miss Montez called, "Gabi?" and stepped into the room.

Gabriella quickly let go of Troy's hand, and reached for the remote to press pause.

"Yes?"

"I'm going to turn in. Once your movie is finished, I think you should say good night and do the same."

It was a very pointed comment. Without saying it directly, it was implying – no hanging around talking and doing whatever else it is you do with each other.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Okay. Good night."

"Good night Miss Montez," Troy said politely.

"Good night Troy."

Gabriella waited until her mom's steps had echoed up the stair case before taking Troy's hand again.

"Gabi," Troy mused, trying out the sound of the nickname. She had always been Gabriella to him.

"Only my mom calls me that.. and… and my dad used to call me that. I like it."

Troy blinked. It was the first time he had heard Gabriella reference her father.

"It's cute," he said gently. "Is it uh… is it reserved for parental types or… could I use it if I wanted?"

"It's reserved for special people. So… yes. You can use it. If you like."

Gabriella quickly reached for the remote and pressed play. She was very aware that she had brought up her father for the first time and didn't particularly feel like elaborating. Troy brought her hand that he was holding to her lips and softly kissed the back of her hand. He was trying to silently communicate that it was okay. That he didn't need to know until she was ready to tell him.

----------

Troy and Gabriella stood outside on the front doorstep.

"The moon is really pretty tonight," Gabriella said, staring up at the sky.

"Yeah, of course there are clear starry moonlit skies this Friday," Troy grumbled. "It will probably rain tomorrow night."

Gabriella giggled. "Doesn't matter, the bowing alley is indoors."

"Very true. I'll pick you up around 6:30? And don't forget to wear something with bit of white – it'll glow and stuff and look funky," Troy suggested.

"Mental note, wear white, that I can do."

"So uh… good night **Gabi**," Troy said, emphasising her new found nickname with a grin.

Lips gravitated together for a soft kiss as though it was the most natural action in the world. However it was Gabriella who made the move to part her lips slightly. She'd set her mind the weekend before to make the kiss happen, and she was determined to follow her gut. Taylor had told her to go with the flow, to do what seemed natural. It no longer seemed natural to kiss Troy and allow it to just be a soft closed mouth kiss on the lips – as lovely as it was.

Troy responded, and tentatively brushed his tongue against hers, all the while worrying that he had misread the signal. He pulled away, lingering just inches away.

"That okay?" he asked softly.

She responded by initiating another kiss, tongues entwining briefly once again. It was a strange sensation – nice, but strange – having something foreign entering your mouth. She still felt awkward and hesitant, not sure exactly what she should do. Troy sensed her hesitation, and not wanting her to pull away like the previous times, he took the commanding role, stroking his tongue lightly against hers. It didn't last long, only for a few seconds.

"You sure this is okay?" Troy asked anxiously.

"Yes… just… sorry. I know I'm not good at this," she apologised.

Troy rolled his eyes, finding her comment ridiculous. He smiled soothingly. "Bull shit. Besides… practice makes perfect. So there's always tomorrow night."

----------

_**Preview for Chapter 22…**_

"_You don't need to be so tense every time we do that," Troy said softly. "Just… relax."_

"_Just because you've probably kissed hundreds of girls," Gabriella commented aloofly._

_Troy had been waiting for this conversation to happen. _

"_Hundreds? You give me a lot of credit Gabriella… I'm only sixteen."_

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you so much for all of the reviews and birthday wishes guys! Love you all :-) It was really great to hear from some different people, and awesome to see that some of you have just came across my little story here. Hopefully I keep hearing from you all! Also loving the constructive criticism and have taken quite a lot of bits and pieces from you guys on board and hopefully you will see gradual improvements in a few areas. So bring on the feedback – seriously! **

**So for my 22****nd**** birthday my friends got me the Jason Nevins remix album of the HSM2 sound track (which by the way is absolutely awesome cruising around in a car with subwoofers) and the HSM All Access book. My friends completely rock and I have no shame in receiving such presents at my age haha. BUT the All Access book has created dilemmas in that it goes into detail with stuff about the scholastic decathlon and the official dates for Twinkle Towne and all sorts of stuff which render my story completely wrong. Which is annoying because I was very adamant that I wanted to stick fairly perfectly within canon. If you consider such merchandise to be a part of canon. Sigh. Anyway…**

**I originally had this chapter divided into two; but I didn't want the decathlon taking up a whole chapter seeing as its pretty boring as it is. So I shortened the decathlon and combined it with the second half, this half being the part I think you will all have enjoyed more.**

**I wrote this chapter and had also written a later chapter featuring the decathlon; before I received the All Access book and I really don't want to rewrite this stuff. I have taken significant creative liberty in relation to the structure of the scholastic decathlon competition. I did research the 'academic decathlon' which appears to be the premier academic competition in the US. However the little that we saw of the competition in HSM1 seemed different to how the real life version runs. So I just decided to make up my own set of rules; it's sort of a mish mash of a whole bunch of competitions I've been a part of throughout my years as an academically inclined individual (aka a freaky nerd girl… not math girl, I was never good at math…) So not only will the way that I am depicting this competition contradict the real life competition, but it also contradicts information in the All Access book. I have to come to peace with that and so I hope this doesn't annoy anyone else who is a stickler to details like this. It's not really in this chapter that you will notice the discrepancies, it's more so in the later chapter that I've written.**


	22. Falling

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. I also have no association with N'Sync. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you so much to everyone for all of your lovely, lovely reviews! You're all so wonderful and fantastic and I love you all!**

**Random comment – McDonalds should be paying me for my efforts to utilise product placement advertising techniques within my writing. And I don't even LIKE McDonalds. (Okay maybe with that statement I just lost my advertising revenue…)**

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**Chapter 22 – Falling **

_  
Can't you see?  
That I'm falling, falling  
Girl I'm falling for you  
And I pray you're falling too  
Falling, Falling  
Ever since the moment I laid eyes on you  
_

_- 'Falling' by N'Sync_

----------

There was a bounce to Troy's step as he headed up the Montez driveway early Saturday evening, car keys jangling in his hand. The events of the previous evening had reassured him to no end. He finally felt like he understood Gabriella's headspace, in terms of the slow development of the physical aspect of their budding relationship. He appreciated that she felt nervous and awkward – but was also comfortable with the fact that she was willing. Willing was something he could cope with. When Troy kissed Gabriella, he felt excited and attracted and connected. All he wanted was for her to feel the same way. His words as they had parted the previous evening rang true – that practice makes perfect. He decided to make it his mission to ensure that every possible kissing opportunity that evening was maximised.

Gabriella opened the door before Troy had even pressed the doorbell, smiling brightly at him.

"Bye mom!" she called back into the house, closing the door behind her.

Troy subsequently leaned over and kissed her softly. Gabriella allowed him to deepen the kiss briefly, but pulled away.

"Troy, my mom is just inside!" she hissed.

"Hello to you too," he replied, amused.

"Hello," Gabriella replied, softening. "So where are we going to?"

"I figured we could just grab some dinner at the snack bar at the alley. The earliest booking I could get was for 8pm."

"Sounds like a plan."

Troy opened the car door, allowing her to step in before he closed the door and went around to the drivers side.

"So… can I kiss you now?" he said with a flirtatious grin.

"So last night I was just a way to pass the time; and now I'm just some… some… kissing toy?"

"Well if you combine the two, kissing is an appealing way to pass time," Troy replied softly leaning in to press his lips to hers.

Gabriella pulled away again a few seconds into the kiss. "These windows aren't tinted and I don't put it past my mother to have binoculars out."

Troy grinned. "Okay," he said simply, turning the ignition and putting the car into gear. He wasn't deterred. The night was young.

----------

Troy stood and stared at his target with determination and concentration. He swung his arms back and forth across his body, loosening his shoulders. He then joined his hands and flexed his fingers. Troy carefully picked up his ball, lined up, and ran up and swung.

**Strike.**

Troy grinned, almost cockily, as he turned back around to face Gabriella.

"Troy Bolton, is there anything you're not good at?" Gabriella asked in amazement.

"Algebra," he responded immediately.

"You got an A on that assignment," she reminded him.

"Yeah but only coz you helped me."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "It was your brain that learnt what I taught you. And then you did the assignment without any help. So algebra does not count. Anything else you're not good at?"

Troy thought for a moment, and responded cheekily, "Double dutch jump rope."

"Double dutch jump rope?" Gabriella repeated, a smile toying on her lips. Every word that left his mouth was completely, utterly, adorably charming.

"Yup. I could never do it. We did it for almost a term in PE in elementary school, and I still couldn't do it. Anyway, it's your turn."

Gabriella tentatively picked up the ball. She'd only bowled a couple of times before in her life. She walked right up to the foul line and stood on the spot, swinging her arm and letting go of the ball. It dropped with a thud and rolled very slowly towards the pins. Gabriella snorted and turned around, not even watching the result.

"That was a good try," Troy said encouragingly. "It was pretty straight. Look, you got three pins."

"Wow, three pins, world record," she said with mock enthusiasm.

"Try it with a bit more power," Troy suggested.

She followed his advice – and sent the ball rolling with great oomph right into the gutter.

Three frames later and Troy had gotten two spares and another strike. He was in the lead by such a long way that Gabriella had stopped looking at the score board. She was becoming increasingly agitated, not because he was losing, but more so because she wasn't accustomed to not being able to do something. She was the kind of person who approached tasks methodically, applied herself, and usually was able to succeed. Although she wouldn't admit to it, Troy sensed her frustration. When it was Gabriella's next turn to bowl, Troy remained standing.

"Here let me help you. So to start with, you need to be about four and a half paces back from the foul line," Troy directed.

He proceeded to show her how to line up, and how to swing her arm properly to bowl the ball effectively. All the while taking the opportunity to wrap his arm around her, to demonstrate how she should move.

"Okay. Let's see if that helps," Troy declared.

Gabriella was doubtful, but nevertheless tried to apply the technique that Troy had taught her. The ball curved slightly to the left but she managed to get seven pins, which was three pins more than her best so far.

"Awesome!" Troy said enthusiastically. "So to get the other three, you do the same thing, but just move over to your right."

Gabriella took a breath and picked up her second ball. She watched in anticipation as the ball rolled up the lane, right on target.

**Spare.**

"Oh my God!" Gabriella shrieked in excitement.

Troy let out a loud whoop, and jumped up and ran over to pick Gabriella up and swing her around.

"So let's add to the list of things Troy can do better than me – teaching," Gabriella murmured, her arms around Troy's neck.

"You taught me algebra," Troy reminded her softly, his hands lightly resting on her waist.

He drew her towards him, at first kissing her lightly, and then a second brief yet passionate kiss.

"And another thing," Gabriella whispered.

"What? Kissing?"

"Yup."

"Like I keep saying, practice makes perfect."

----------

"I feel like ice cream," Gabriella announced as they placed their rented shoes back at reception.

"There's a Baskin Robbins not too far from here," Troy suggested.

Gabriella contemplated, wrinkling up her nose in thought. "Hmm… how about a McFlurry?"

Troy raised his eyebrows. "You want to go to McDonalds? After I had to defend myself to Taylor that I don't take you on cheap dates, that we have fun and imaginative times together?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "What if I promise I don't tell Taylor?"

"I happen to know that girls talk about everything so I know you will tell her."

"Okay you're right. But can we still go?" Gabriella pouted.

Troy sighed. He had told himself that Gabriella was far above McDonalds, that their dates should never reach that point of lack of imagination. But looking in her imploring eyes gazing at him pleadingly, the little pout on her lips… Troy was whipped. Where Gabriella wanted to go, they would go.

----------

"Hi, could we get two McFlurries with Oreo… and a small fries," Troy added. He turned to Gabriella. "Do you want anything else?"

Gabriella shook her head. "Hey look, there's LeBron!" she exclaimed.

"Where? Where?" Troy demanded, looking up with excited alarm in the direction she had pointed.

Gabriella used his diverted attention to hand the cashier a twenty dollar bill. Troy realised straight away that he had been tricked. She smiled triumphantly. He glared at her, but couldn't remain mad for long. Troy decided to let it slide, and just wordlessly picked up their tray and headed toward a booth in the back corner. The first thing he did was pick up a fry and dip it into his McFlurry.

"Okay I just thought you were a bit hungry and that's why you got the fries. But this…. this is… err…" Gabriella tried to find a word other than 'disgusting'. "…interesting."

"You've never tried fries with ice cream?" Troy asked incredulously.

"No, I can't say I've ever felt inspired to try the combination."

"It's awesome. Try it, seriously," Troy insisted.

Gabriella wrinkled her nose. "No thanks."

"You told me that you will try everything once."

She sighed, and tentatively picked up a fry from the bag, barely grazing it into the ice cream. Troy shook his head.

"More."

Gabriella rolled her eyes but complied, dipping it in and scooping up a little ice cream.

"Just a regular fry… just a regular fry," Gabriella told herself, and then popped the fry into her mouth.

Troy watched her expression with amusement. She went from being utterly mortified to being surprisingly pleased.

"Wow. That wasn't bad," Gabriella admitted.

"I told you so," Troy said smugly.

"Still, I think I'll stick to my spoon to eat my ice cream thank you," she said, dipping her spoon into the McFlurry.

"Hi Troy!" a female voice trilled.

Troy looked up to see Liana and Paula, two of the juniors from the cheerleading squad.

"Hey girls, what you up to tonight?" Troy said with a smile.

"We're indulging and getting sundaes. Promise you won't tell Dee?" Paula said pleadingly.

Dee was the head cheerleader – and a health food freak.

"My lips are sealed," Troy promised, miming zipping his mouth closed, locking something and then throwing away a key. "Do you girls know each other?"

"Know of. You're Gabriella, right?" Paula said with a warm smile.

Gabriella nodded. "We have English together, don't we?"

Paula nodded. "Yup. I'm Paula."

"I'm Liana," Liana said, a little more cooly.

Liana was more hesitant. The truth was that she enjoyed spending time with the boys from the basketball team, in particular Troy, Chad, Zeke and Jason. She had missed their company since they had been spending more and more of their time with a different crowd of people. Or, more specifically – she missed Troy's company since he has started spending more and more of his time with Gabriella.

"Troy, you'll have to make some time for your old crew once in a while. I've hardly talked to you and the boys since basketball season ended," Liana commented, throwing a glance at Gabriella.

"Oh please Liana, when you were dating Nick last year, you totally ditched our crew to hang with him all the time!" Paula said. She then realised that this may have offended Gabriella, and looked guiltily at her. "I didn't mean that in a rude way to you. I was just saying, of course Troy is spending lots of time with you."

Gabriella held her hand up. "It's cool. I knew what you meant."

"Besides, there's nothing stopping you from coming to talk to us," Troy informed the girls.

"Might have to do that," Liana said, with a flirtatious smile.

Gabriella tightened her grip on Troy's hand. She tried to maintain a blank expression, but her discomfort was clear not only to Troy, but also to both Paula and Liana.

"Anyway, we'll leave you to it and go engorge on our caramel goodness," Paula said. "It was nice meeting you properly Gabriella."

"You too," Gabriella said with a smile.

"Bye Troy," Liana said, flashing him a cute smile. She completely ignored Gabriella.

Gabriella couldn't hide the fact that she felt uncomfortable. It wasn't the first time she'd been with Troy and had random people she'd never really met come up and talk to him. She knew that the cheerleaders adored Troy, and had witnessed their admiration from afar. But it was a different matter altogether when an attractive blonde cheerleader was making goo goo eyes at him right in front of her, while they were quite clearly on a date.

Troy watched Gabriella, her expression indicating exactly how she was feeling. He leaned over and kissed her softly, trying to reassure her. She was becoming more and more willing each time, but he still sensed that she was holding back.

"You don't need to be so tense every time we do that," Troy said softly. "Just… relax."

"Just because you've probably kissed hundreds of girls," Gabriella commented aloofly.

Troy had been waiting for this conversation to happen.

"Hundreds? You give me a lot of credit Gabriella," Troy said, trying to keep the conversation light. "I'm only sixteen."

"Okay. Dozens?"

He sighed. "Why don't you just come out and ask whatever you want to ask?"

"How many?" Gabriella asked in a tiny voice.

"Okay well I guess I couldn't give you an exact figure," Troy sighed. "There would be quite a few."

"Oh."

"Not because I'm Troy the manwhore," Troy said insistently, trying to defend himself as well as comfort her. "But because we sometimes play spin the bottle and stupid games like that at our parties. It doesn't mean anything though, half the time it's over before it begins."

"How many as girlfriends then?" Gabriella asked, still sounding terrified.

"You do know that girlfriend is a loose term to describe these people. I've told you before that I've never really dated… until you."

"Troy…"

He thought. "Four."

Gabriella nodded, feeling a little better. She'd been expecting a lot worse. "Will you tell me who?"

"Yes, they were all cheerleaders. There was Monica, she's in our homeroom, the red head? And Alana… she's the short blonde one. Kayla, who isn't at East High anymore. And there was Alyson, she's in our science class. We were a bit more serious. We went on maybe two dates, just her and I on our own."

"Okay."

"Does it bother you? That… that girls talk to me?" Troy said slowly. "Like… like how Liana was?"

Gabriella swallowed. "I knew what I was getting into."

"Getting into?" Troy repeated questioningly, narrowing his eyes.

"When I first came here, to East High, and bumped into you and everything... I asked Taylor about you. She… well to be honest, she warned me. I knew that you had flocks of girls wanting to be with you. So when I let myself like you, yes, I knew what I was getting into. That… that if it went anywhere, that if by some miracle you liked me too… then I would have to deal with all of that."

"That still doesn't answer my question. Does it bother you?"

"Insecurities are natural. They aren't necessarily rational or based upon logical thought. But they are always bound to be there."

Gabriella was avoiding answering him directly. Troy knew it, and Gabriella knew that he knew it.

"In other words, it bothers you," Troy said bluntly.

"I don't want to be that girl Troy. That girl who lets other people get to her, who is jealous and neurotic. But I'd be lying to you if I said that I am completely unphased by your… by your popularity. I like you, so why shouldn't all those girls like you as well? They are attractive, bubbly, perky girls who – according to the social structure – you should be with."

Troy went to interrupt, but Gabriella held up her hand, knowing exactly what he was about to protest with.

"And yes I know that you don't care about the social structure and if you did then you never would have auditioned for the musical. But I'm not like those cheerleader girls; I've never been popular; I don't care about whoever this months teen heartthrob is and whether he is wearing his hair in some weird ass half pony tail or just covering it with a beanie; I just barely understand the basics of make up application and just about everytime you see me wearing it my mom has to do half of it for me; I'm not exciting; I'm not in the middle of the social scene. I might be book smart but when it comes to all of this stuff, I have no idea what I'm doing. So it bothers me because I don't have control over the situation. I can't control how you feel. I can't control whether in a few weeks you'll get sick of me because you'll realise that I really am just boring and that you'd prefer something different. Like one of them."

Gabriella finally finished her long ramble. "I didn't even realise I felt half of that… I guess it was subconscious," she said softly.

They fell silent, both staring at the table. The hands that had been joined across the table had been retracted. Gabriella drummed her fingers lightly on top of her now empty McFlurry container. Troy jiggled his foot.

"You're annoyed with me," Gabriella commented quietly.

"I'm not annoyed with you," Troy insisted, his annoyance very clear.

"Yes you are. This is why I didn't want to talk about any of this! Because I knew you would get annoyed."

"I'm not annoyed with you, I'm annoyed with the situation," Troy clarified. "I'm annoyed because… because I never ASKED to be popular."

"Oh, poor baby, such a burden," Gabriella said sarcastically.

Troy sighed. "I don't mean it like that. What I mean is, I'm just me. It's not as though I flirt with them or give them a reason to think that I would be interested. I've always had this problem. Even if I had wanted to be serious with the other girls, it never would have happened because they would see me talking to another chick and then freak out and be nagging about whether I thought she was prettier. I had really, really thought it wouldn't be a problem with you and me. I thought… well I hoped… that you would be able to believe me when I say that it's you that I like. Not Liana or any other member of the female race."

"Lesson about girls Troy – we ALL have these insecurities. It's like they're deeply imbedded into female genitalia or something. They just come with the package. No exceptions," Gabriella said firmly.

"Okay. But Gabriella… seriously… you sell yourself short. Don't compare yourself to those other girls. Actually, scrap that – compare yourself to them and you will realise that you are sweet and charming and funny and so genuinely caring and warm and amazingly beautiful. And you like me for me… you see the real me. The guy who, surprise surprise ladies and gents, cares about stuff OTHER than basketball! So… no you can't control my feelings but you can have faith in them. And I don't know how I can say it more clearly but to say that I'm falling so hard for you Gabriella… you have no idea just how hard I'm falling. So… please trust me when I say that it's only you that I like. Okay?"

It was unnerving confessing your feelings so openly, so blatantly putting them out for scrutiny and ridicule. Troy felt exposed, he was staring down at the table, unable to look her directly in the eye.

Gabriella couldn't speak at first. Every day she spent time with Troy, the more she liked him. She had always found it hard to believe that he could be feeling as seriously about her and she was feeling about him. But at that moment – his words, his tone, his eyes… it said it all. She believed him. There was no doubt.

She reached across the table, taking his hand with hers. "I do have faith in that. And… and just so you know… I'm… I'm falling too."

----------

Gabriella was quiet for the whole car ride to her house. Since her encounter with Katie at Wednesday's rehearsal, she had pondered her relationship with Troy on and off. What it was… if it was a relationship, if they were just casually dating, if they had a commitment to one another. She hadn't wanted to talk to him about it, she didn't want to be that girl putting pressure on him. However given the revelation of mutual feelings than ran deep; it felt as though the conversation was warranted.

Troy sensed that something was up, and that it was likely in relation to their earlier discussion about his previous girlfriends and the attention he got at school. But it wasn't a conversation he wanted to continue while driving, so he allowed the sound of the music to fill the silence in the air.

"Troy can I ask you something?" Gabriella ventured as he pulled up outside of her house.

"Of course," Troy answered, turning off the car engine and unbuckling his seatbelt so he could turn to face her more comfortably.

Gabriella paused. She wasn't sure how to word it. "I realise that what I'm about to ask is going to sound so middle school but I'm not sure how else to ask."

"Gabriella, just spit it out."

"What are we?" Gabriella asked.

"Huh?" Troy was confused.

"What are we? You and I? Are you… are you my boyfriend?"

_**To be continued… **_

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE – I don't do it to be evil. It's just a logical breaking point in what was originally one massively, massively long chapter!**

**So there are a huge huge huge number of people who have this story as one of their favourites and have never left a review. If you consider this one of your favourite stories – I would love to know why. I want to know what it is that you like about my story, what it is about it that you enjoy reading. So that I can keep delivering the stuff that you want! **


	23. Practice Makes Perfect

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. I have no association with Dawson's Creek despite my continual references! I additionally would like to thank the lovely people from twiztv for supplying the transcript from which I acquired this piece of conversation.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I would like to dedicate this chapter to my only real life friend who has actually made a very active effort to care about this newfound fanfic obsession of mine. She knows who she is. Xoxo. **

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**Chapter 23 – Practice Makes Perfect**

_Bessie: So what kind of kiss was it? Peck on the cheek? Probing tongues? Fingers clawing at your neck?_

_(Joey makes a face like she's slightly embarrassed.)_

_Joey: Bessie..._

_Bessie: Did he touch your--_

_(Cut back to Pacey and Dawson)_

_Pacey: ...thing-a-ma-jig?_

_Dawson: Get out of the gutter. No thing-a-ma-jig involved. It was just the sweetest, most romantic, Fourth ofJuly fireworky, waves crashing on the shore, beyond any movie I could ever imagine kiss._

_- Excerpt from Dawson's Creek 02x01 'The Kiss'_

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_**Previously…**_

"_What are we?" Gabriella asked._

"_Huh?" Troy was confused._

"_What are we? You and I? Are you… are you my boyfriend?"_

----------

Troy blinked. To be quite honest he hadn't expected this conversation to happen. He kind of saw the subject area as being a given. Less than an hour earlier he'd put his feelings out there on the line, and so to him, he considered the answer to her tentative question as an unsaid given. With his surprise, he didn't answer straight away, making Gabriella feel very self conscious.

"Umm… you can tell me to shut up and stop being a girl if you like…" she said quietly breaking the silence.

"Gabriella, if you stopped being a girl then I assure you that we would not be going out," Troy joked.

She blinked at his phrasing.

"Going out," Gabriella said slowly, echoing his final words.

"Where did all this come from?" Troy asked softly, taking her hand with his.

"On Wednesday, at rehearsal, I was talking with Katie Holden. And she asked me how things are with 'my boyfriend' and I went to say 'he's not my boyfriend' but then I wasn't sure whether you are or not. Are you?" Gabriella was speaking very fast, her rambling a clear indicator of her nerves.

"I like how we just had a big conversation about the depth of our feelings and you need to be asking this question," Troy remarked.

"If we hadn't had that conversation then I wouldn't have had the courage to ask it," she replied.

Troy was amused. Lots of guys would be freaked out by the commitment conversation, which he assumed was to do with Gabriella's nervous rambling. But Troy wasn't freaked out at all. In his brain, he already identified her as his girlfriend. And he was absolutely fine with discussing it and putting a definite label on it. Especially now that he'd told her just how strongly he was feeling about her, and that he knew that those feelings were mutual. He wanted the world to know that Gabriella was his. And he wanted her to feel confident in the notion that he was hers.

"Well… let's take all things into consideration. We see each other pretty much every day, hang out at lunch and after school, we talk on the phone, we go on these amazing dates which make me want to spend every single waking moment with you. And we do this a lot…" he trailed off and pressed his lips gently against hers. "And I've made it fairly clear how strongly I feel about you. And I don't want to be with anyone else other than you so uh… that's where I'm at. Yes, we're dating, we're going out. You're my girlfriend. But that's only if… if you feel the same way."

Gabriella's lips had slowly formed into a smile as he spoke. "Do you even need to ask?"

It was Gabriella who pulled Troy towards her; who parted her lips slightly; who darted her tongue out to caress Troy's tentatively. Instead of allowing the French kiss to be brief like previous times, Troy responded, lengthening the kiss, entwining his tongue with hers. For Troy… it was what he had been waiting for since New Years Eve. For Gabriella… it was somewhat different. She abruptly pulled away.

"We're… we're making out," she said slowly.

"Well, we were."

Gabriella was staring down the gap between her and Troy, looking down at the handbrake as though it were the most fascinating object she'd laid eyes upon. She was gripping onto the seat beneath her.

"You have to tell me if I'm doing it wrong. I feel like I'm doing it wrong," she said softly, jiggling her leg, feeling restless.

"Gabriella…"

"I mean… our teeth nearly bashed together at one point. I'm pretty sure that's not meant to happen."

"Gabriella…"

"Not that I would know. I mean…"

"Gabriella!" Troy said again, raising his voice a little. She fell silent. "Has anyone ever told you that you think too much?"

"Yes."

Troy reached over, tracing his finger up her arm and to her chin, gently tipping her head up so her eye line would move up to look at him.

"Why are you over analysing this? If you don't feel comfortable, then just say so and I promise you that I will be fine with it," Troy assured her. "But if you are okay with it… stop thinking about it. I am not sitting here thinking 'what the hell is Gabriella doing with her tongue' and you shouldn't be thinking 'was that Troy's tooth?'."

"This is coming from you, Mr. Perfectionist," Gabriella commented wryly. "Who got upset when he couldn't control the weather."

Troy smiled, rolling his eyes. "Okay. And when I was freaking out about making our dates perfect, you know what you said to me? You said that all that mattered was that you were here with me. Well I'm telling you this now – kissing isn't about logistics. It's about what's in here," Troy pointed to his chest, over his heart. "It's about… it's about expressing and sharing what you feel… what we both feel. It's about being connected… it's about letting go. For use of better terminology, it's about breaking free," Troy said wryly. "I get that you like being in control and so this is freaking you out because it's unknown. Think of it as like the first time we sang together. It was scary as all hell, you were tentative at first – but once you let go and allowed yourself to feel the music – how was it then?"

"Like magic," Gabriella whispered.

Troy's speech was heartfelt. He could appreciate that Gabriella was freaked, and he had gotten to know her well enough to understand that her reasons were on a deeper level that was beyond that she was simply being prudish. However there was a part of him which was frustrated. They'd built this amazing foundation to what he really, truly believed could be his first real relationship. Gabriella had captivated and mesmerised Troy in a way that he never thought he could be. They'd made confessions about the depth of their feelings. And now he so desperately wanted to kiss her, to really kiss her, to keep kissing her and not stop kissing her. Troy didn't know what else he could say to make her realise that she was being completely and utterly ridiculous about the whole situation.

Troy opened his mouth to keep speaking but a shy hand came up to his lips, index finger gently grazing his mouth, telling him to stop speaking.

Their lips crashed together, as though magnetically pulled together. The invisible barrier, the shield which had been holding Gabriella back from allowing herself to kiss Troy the way she wanted to was finally removed. She didn't care about her inhibitions or insecurities. Something in Troy's speech had just clicked, it had hit her. Troy's lips were on hers and this time there was no pulling away after a few seconds of connection. Troy took the lead, guiding her, stroking his tongue against hers. The kiss was slow, languid and probing. Gabriella was clutching onto Troy's upper arms as she responded eagerly, exploring his mouth.

It was a lack of air which forced Gabriella to pull away. Troy gazed at her, his eyes darting from her full, slightly swollen lips; to her awestruck, innocent eyes. They'd established earlier that he had kissed his fair share of girls. But with Gabriella… it was different. Kissing Gabriella was like going into a whole other world; a world where only they existed. When he was kissing Gabriella, it was like… it was like he knew. Troy knew that they belonged together. There was a spark, a connection, which ran deep inside of him. He'd known her for less than two months. But it was as though he'd known her for a life time.

"Told you practice makes perfect," Troy said huskily.

Gabriella couldn't tear her eyes away from his. Gabriella had known that she really liked Troy, she has known that she liked him his passion, his humour, his genuine kindness. Now, those feelings ran on a different level. She was overcome with emotion and attraction and heat; completely captivated by the way that kissing Troy made her feel so connected to him, so in tune with everything that he felt. The rest of the world didn't matter, pressures of school and the musical and the decathlon, it was far away. All that mattered was Troy and Troy lips and lips of Troy.

"Then let's keep practising," she found herself saying, and without any conscious decision on her part, her lips were closing over his again.

----------

It took over twenty minutes to get from Troy's car – well, Troy's borrowed car – to the front door step of Gabriella's house. Finally, he was strong enough to pull away and insist firmly that she should get inside, and not allow her to distract his conviction with a kiss.

"Do you wanna come over tomorrow?" Troy asked softly as they walked up the drive way. "We can hang out… or something…"

"We have to do our science prac report," Gabriella reminded him. "And I have to catch up on what I missed from rehearsals."

He rolled his eyes. "Right. Homework. Rehearsing. Exactly what I had in mind."

"It won't take long," Gabriella added quickly. "And then we can… hang out… after. Think of it as a reward for hard work."

"That is a good motivation technique. Maybe that's the secret to getting me to study. Withhold Gabriella kissage until a task has been completed."

"I have that kind of power?" Gabriella asked flirtatiously.

"That and more," Troy replied with a grin. He glanced up to where he could see the master bedroom light flick on.

"You should get inside," he said for the fifth time that night. "I want to kiss you good night but your talk about your mom and her binoculars has made me scared shitless she will see."

So instead, Troy kissed her sweetly on the lips and turned to walk away, Gabriella watching after him.

"Wait!" she suddenly called.

Troy stopped and turned around on the spot, and saw Gabriella running to meet him. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him again, this time with even more urgency and hunger than the previous languid kisses.

"To hell with my mom. I have to make up for lost time with all of my freaky weirdness."

----------

The following day at about 4 in the afternoon, Lucille Bolton was standing in the living room, peeking out through the curtains. Troy and Gabriella were outside in the backyard, rehearsing for the musical. She had been keeping an eye on them since they had disappeared into his room for over an hour earlier. Troy had claimed they were working on a report for science class but Lucille was doubtful as to whether there was a lot of truth in that statement. Still, they'd come down after an hour and printed something in the study so maybe there was at least some truth. They spent the next half hour or so practicing some of the dancing from Twinkle Towne. Lucille was pleasantly surprised that her son could dance. Then again, he would have good footwork from all the years of basketball so perhaps it made sense.

This time as she peeked out though, her eyes narrowed. They now looked as though they were acting out a scene. Troy was clutching onto his script, continually having to refer to his lines. Gabriella on the other hand was speaking with little need to glance at her script which was on the ground beside her.

"Lucy stop spying," Jack said with a sigh from his place in front of the television, eyes glued to an old video of a basketball game he'd seen about a dozen times.

"Jack, aren't you the slightest bit concerned about our son and his raging hormones?"

"Well yes, but it's going to happen sooner or later," Jack said bluntly. "Better it be with a nice girl like Gabriella who he actually likes than one of the cheerleading floozies."

Lucille sighed. "I know but… he's only sixteen."

"Nearly seventeen. Nearly at the end of his junior year in high school. For all we know, he's been out having sex for years."

"How can you joke about that???" she asked, mortified at the mere suggestion.

"I'm just saying… Troy is a good looking boy, obviously got that from me," Jack said with a grin. "And he's popular."

"We are too flexible with him. What are we thinking, letting him go to all those parties?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "If we didn't let him go, he'd just tell us he's staying over at Chad's."

"He's just… he's just growing up so fast," she murmured, softening considerably.

Lucille knew that her husband was right. It didn't mean that she liked it any better.

----------

"Umm… so… I was thinking that we could practice the dialogue from the final scene," Gabriella suggested.

Troy narrowed his eyes, a sly smile forming on his face. "As long as we're practicing dialogue, I think we should be practicing all of the stage directions then," he suggested, picking up on her innuendo.

"What a great idea," Gabriella agreed, smiling slightly.

Troy picked up his script and cleared his throat.

"Sometimes I feel like this isn't real," he said.

"What isn't real?"

"This… you and me… being here. Together. I've loved you for so long but I never really thought it possible that we could be together."

"Arnold, anything is possible if you believe enough in it."

"I guess that's it then Minnie. I believed in us."

Gabriella swallowed. "And then it says here that Minnie and Arnold share a brief but passionate kiss," Gabriella said softly.

"Well if it says that then…"

Troy took a step forward to meet Gabriella and took her hands in his. They kissed softly, lips parting with a tentative meeting of tongues.

"Do you think that's passionate enough?" Troy asked. "I mean… we are going to be on stage in front of all these people. Little kids might be there."

"There's no harm in trying it differently," Gabriella said coyly.

----------

Lucille peered out the window again. Her eyes widened at the sight she saw, and she snapped the curtain closed.

"Oh dear Lord. I did not need to see that."

"What now?" Jack asked with a sigh.

"Err… let's just say that it is vocal exercising of a nature a mother should not have to observe."

"It surprises you that Troy kisses his girlfriend?"

"It surprises me that he would do it so blatantly in the middle of the backyard for the world to see."

"You mean for his spying mother to see."

"I am not spying!" Lucille exclaimed. "I'm… supervising. When Gabriella is here, she is under our duty of care. I am sure her mother would appreciate my keeping an eye on them. Don't you agree?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Yes sweetheart."

----------

They separated after a long kiss, almost a half a minute before their lips had parted.

"I don't think that was quite right. I think we should keep practicing this," Troy declared with a grin.

"You're such a perfectionist."

"Yeah you love it."

"Well…. I think that Minnie would like it if Arnold was holding her as he kissed her," she said. She guided Troy's hands to sit on her waist, and he pulled her closer towards him.

"Arnold likes it when Minnie holds him too," Troy said steadily, reaching for Gabriella's hands and bringing them up to wrap around the back of his neck. "And… maybe… maybe it shouldn't be so brief. I mean… they've overcome so much. Their friends tried to keep them apart… and… and they've liked each other for such a long time."

"They would be filled with desperation and passion and hunger and…" Gabriella trailed off.

----------

"Kids you need to come up for air some time… I don't need a case of asphyxiation on my hands!"

"Lucille, I think it's a bit grotesque that you're still watching them," Jack remarked. "Either do the awkward mother thing and interrupt them, or just leave them be."

----------

"Uh Troy… I don't mean to alarm you… but I think I just saw your mother peeking through the curtains," Gabriella whispered.

Troy groaned. "Trust her to stick her nose into my business."

"I should probably get going soon anyway," Gabriella said regretfully. "I have some calculus homework and I want to work on my literature assignment."

"Wouldn't you rather stay with me," Troy murmured, drawing her close again, lingering just a couple of inches from her face.

"Of course I'd rather be here with you," Gabriella said softly. "But not if your mom is spying on us. And I really do have homework. And I'm pretty sure you do too…"

"Why are you always right?"

"You could walk me home," Gabriella said with a smile. "Unless your mom is going to follow us in her car so she can spy."

"I doubt even she would go to that measure."

----------

Lucille looked alarmed as Troy and Gabriella headed towards the back door, quickly leaving her post and sitting next to her husband on the couch, pretending to find the basketball game fascinating.

"Wow mom, watching some ball?" Troy remarked as he and Gabriella stepped into the house.

"You know I like basketball Troy. Why else would I allow myself to be subjected to the hours of basketball torture from you and your father?"

"I'm going to walk Gabriella home."

"Thank you for making the sandwiches for lunch Mrs Bolton, it was really nice of you," Gabriella said with a smile.

"It was no trouble at all. And I keep telling you to call me Lucy!"

Gabriella ducked her head and nodded. She'd always called adults by their surnames, but still, she wanted to do as Troy's mother felt more comfortable with her doing.

"Bye Coach Bolton," Gabriella said brightly.

"See you Gabriella."

Lucille watched after them, narrowing her eyes as she observed Troy's hand resting on the small of Gabriella's back as they walked.

"I should have said I'd drive her home," Lucille muttered under her breath.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** **I would really really really love to know what you all thought of this chapter. It was absolutely crucially important to me that I got this right. I realise that it seems like just a whole bunch of kissing and fluff but this kissing and fluff; in the way that I built the notion of kissing in relation to Gabriella's fears and Troy's feelings etc – it made it important. So I hope you were happy with it. **

**By the way the author's note at the end of the next chapter is almost as long as the chapter itself. Perhaps I should make the preview about the author's note. Ha. **

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_**Preview for Chapter 24…**_

"_Why don't you just get the kiss over and done with so that we can go inside?" Chad called out impatiently._

_Gabriella blushed, ducking her head slightly, but then looked Troy straight in the eyes._

"_You know we haven't really kissed at school before," Troy said quietly. "Not… properly."_

"_First time for everything," Gabriella responded softly. _


	24. Chaos Reigns

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter along with the next chapter are, well, I think they're kinda boring but I'm trying to move the plot forward so I hope you can appreciate that. Also... ****when you get to the end of this chapter and see the 600 word long authors note I apologise if this causes you to want to throw stuff at your computer screen. But I would like you to read it. :-) **

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**Chapter 24 – Chaos Reigns**

In the month and a half since moving to Albuquerque and starting at East High, Gabriella had fallen nicely into a routine. With Taylor's guidance of course, she had found her place within the standardised East High morning ritual. Depending on her mothers work schedule, Gabriella would either arrive just minutes before the bell and head straight to homeroom to find everyone already there; or alternatively arrive almost a half hour early. The latter was the preferred option as it allowed time to spend with her friends. In particular, with Troy. Taylor would also arrive early, and then the boys would arrive in trickles – Troy either first of the four if he came with his dad, or last if he got the bus.

Monday morning was a latter scenario. Both Gabriella and Taylor stepped out of their mothers' cars at almost exactly the same time, spotting each other and heading to the front stairs to wait. Jason soon arrived, with Zeke and Chad not far behind. As they milled about waiting, various Wildcat basketballers, cheerleaders, Twinkle Towne cast, chemistry club members and decathletes came by to chat to people from within the group; and then move along to head to their homerooms and lockers.

As Troy stepped off the bus, you could wonder whether anything had really changed at East High. After such a violent reaction to his exploration of his theatrical talents, the kids had really come around and if anything he was more popular than ever. He exchanged greetings with no less than seventeen people who had approached him in the short walk from the bus to where he could see his friends waiting at the front steps. He barely greeted the boys and Taylor, and instead went straight over to Gabriella, wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug.

"Miss me?" he whispered coyly in her ear.

"Yes," Gabriella confessed. "The longest fifteen hours of my life."

He smiled. "Good."

"Why don't you just get the kiss over and done with so that we can go inside?" Chad called out impatiently.

Gabriella blushed, ducking her head slightly, but then looked Troy straight in the eyes.

"You know we haven't really kissed at school before," Troy said quietly. "Not… properly."

"First time for everything," Gabriella responded softly.

They were well aware of the audience they had, and so the kiss that followed fell into the Friday night category – short, but passionate. Taylor couldn't help but smile slyly; proud of her friend for taking the step and finally kissing the boy the way that a cute boy SHOULD be kissed.

"Gabriella, come with me to the bathroom," Taylor said dramatically, linking arms with Gabriella and practically dragging her away.

"Yeah have fun talking about Troy!" Zeke called after them.

Neither girl even bothered to deny it.

"When did this happen?!?!" Taylor hissed.

Gabriella smiled dreamily. "Friday… Saturday… Sunday…"

"You spent the whole weekend with him? Did you have sex?!"

"No!" Gabriella exclaimed, mortified at the suggestion. "We watched a DVD on Friday night. And then had a date on Saturday night. And then I went over to his house yesterday afternoon to study and rehearse and… stuff… Each night on our own. Separately. Separate beds!"

"But you… you kissed him? Was it perfect? Please tell me it was perfect and that this ridiculous wait was worthwhile?"

Gabriella nodded. "It was weird at first and I was a bit freaked but… Troy somehow just knows what to say to make me realise that everything will be okay. And it was okay… it was more than okay. Taylor…. I really like him. I mean, I really really really like him," Gabriella said urgently. "Is there something wrong with me? We haven't even known each other for two months!"

"Of course there's nothing wrong with it. You clicked. It happens with some people."

"We um… we had the conversation."

"The conversation?" Taylor said questioningly, confused. "What conversation?"

"We talked about commitment… and his ex girlfriends and some other stuff."

Taylor raised her eyebrows. "Oh… THAT conversation. I gather it went well if all of this kissing ensued."

Gabriella nodded, smiling shyly. "He um… he said that I'm his girlfriend."

Taylor rolled her eyes. "For someone with an intellectual and emotional maturity way above her years, sometimes I swear you are like twelve Gabriella."

----------

"So how was your weekend?" Jason asked Troy.

Troy was grinning like a Cheshire cat as he responded with, "Excellent."

"Did you guys do it?!" Chad asked incredulously.

"No!! Why would you think that?" Troy asked, mortified.

"Because you haven't stopped smiling and you had this little sickening cute moment earlier that made me want to puke," Chad responded matter of factly.

"Well we didn't. Do it, that is," Troy clarified firmly. "We did uh… well we sort of agreed that we're going steady."

Zeke patted his friend on the back. "Nice."

----------

Miss Darbus skipped over her usual morning rant about cell phone misuse to make a very excited, proud announcement.

"I am very pleased to announce that from today, the tickets for our winter musicale, Twinkle Towne, will be on sale," Miss Darbus announced to the class within homeroom. "Opening night is two and a half weeks away, with the show being performed on Friday the 10th, Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th of March. I have already had a LOT of interest so I would suggest that you get in early. Exposure to the arts is cleansing for the soul, and I recommend that all students, whether you aspire to be a thespian or not, take full advantage of this opportunity to expose yourself to creative energy."

She proceeded to spend nearly the entirety of homeroom selling the concept of coming along to watch the show. Troy turned around more than once to glance at Gabriella. He could see quite clearly that she was looking uncomfortable with all of the talk. Miss Darbus was selling the show as being the show to top all shows. Henceforth, putting a lot of pressure on Troy and Gabriella to live up to that standard.

----------

Lunch time arrived relatively quickly after a hectic morning. It was that time of year where classes were becoming more and more serious; with assignments and homework piling up; with talk turning to end of year exams. Troy and Gabriella went through the cafeteria lunch line together.

"I really have to start bringing my lunch with me," Gabriella said with a sigh. "This stuff is gross."

"That's why my mom makes me a sandwich half the time, she knows how gross it is."

Troy picked up a fruit salad and a tub of yoghurt, and put them on Gabriella's tray. She turned to him, raising her eyebrows. "You just presume to know what I will want?"

He didn't say anything, just grinned and then selected a tropical juice from the fridge and added it to her tray.

After paying for their lunches, they headed over to their lunch table.

"Gabriella, Troy, look what we just bought," Taylor said with a wide smile.

Taylor held up a bunch of tickets to Twinkle Towne.

"Told you we'd be there," Chad said to Troy, punching his friend on the arm.

"I think everyone I know is going," Troy commented. "Every other person I ran into today informed me they had either already bought a ticket, were on their way to buy a ticket, or had intention to buy one."

Gabriella nodded in agreement, and shot Taylor a glare. "Taylor had talked everyone in the decathlon team into coming."

"They would have come without my influence Gabriella," Taylor pointed out.

"Hey boys!" Paula, Jacqui and Liana approached the table.

"Ladies, looking lovely today," Zeke greeted them.

It was an awkward combination for Troy. He had only directly conversed with Jacqui once since her drunken come on at Jason's party, and it was just the Saturday gone when Liana had been very blatantly flashing him flirtatious smiles.

"Troy, we're really excited about the musical!" Paula said genuinely.

"A sexy athlete who sings and dances? It's like a girls dream come true," Liana cooed.

Paula elbowed Liana, rolling her eyes. "Are you nervous?" she asked, looking at Gabriella.

"It's building," Gabriella admitted. "I don't think it's hit me yet that there actually is a show. I've just been so busy with everything else going on."

Chad began to fake cough. "Cough-cough-cough-making out-cough-cough-cough."

Troy glared at Chad. "Very mature."

"Anyway, we just wanted to come over and say hi and let you know we were going to be there," Paula said.

"I will be looking forward to embarrassing myself in front of you," Troy responded with a cheery grin.

"Jacqui? You coming with us?" Liana asked.

"I'll just be a second, go on ahead," Jacqui said to them, and then turned to Troy. "We haven't really talked a lot since winter break and I realised I never told you that I applied to Stanford right before applications were due. You convinced me I should give it a shot and so I did."

"Awesome! I mean, you've only wanted to go there like, forever. You'd kick yourself if you didn't at least apply."

"I just hope my hard work pays off. Senior year has killed me, but at least my transcript is looking pretty good. All I've wanted to do for so long is study medicine, and Stanford has a really great med program."

"You want to study medicine?" Gabriella asked, very surprised. She knew Jacqui by name and face but hadn't actually met her, all she knew was 'cheerleader.'

Jacqui nodded. "Yup. Don't worry, it surprises everyone."

"I'm thinking about studying medicine," Gabriella revealed.

"I didn't know that," Troy said, poking Gabriella in the arm.

She shrugged. "It's a while off, but I'm considering it."

"So what's your back up plan?" Troy asked Jacqui.

"Anywhere but here," she said lightly. "Mainly Californian schools."

Troy raised his eyebrows. "There's nothing wrong with Albuquerque."

"No, I'm excited at the prospect of leaving to be honest. Getting out of New Mexico is a definite priority. No way did I want to get stuck here. And uh… Scott has only applied at California schools so we should be nearby."

"You and Scott are back on?" Troy asked with surprise.

"Kind of. We've talked about it. We're thinking about giving it another go. I uh… I had a bit of a revelation recently. A crazy drunk night and stupid actions made me rethink life and stuff…" Jacqui spoke elusively, but Troy knew she was referring to her hitting on him at Jason's.

Jacqui glanced at Gabriella. "I feel so stupid, I'm sitting here talking to you guys and you probably have no idea who I am."

Troy cut in because there was something that he wanted to say, something he'd wanted to say to someone since Saturday night.

"Gabriella, this is Jacqui. Jacqui, this is Gabriella… my girlfriend," Troy said proudly, squeezing Gabriella's hand.

Gabriella couldn't help but smile broadly at his usage of the terminology. She was Gabriella… Troy's girlfriend.

"You might want to tell Liana that," Jacqui said darkly.

Troy groaned. "Why?"

"You know Liana. New male fixation each month. This month is the month of Troy Bolton."

"Great," Gabriella muttered under her breath.

"She does know that Gabriella and I are going out right?" Troy asked. "I mean… we ran into Paula and Liana while we were on a date on Saturday."

"Paula and I keep telling her to back off. I think it's harmless, she will smile and act cute and get over it when she doesn't get attention in return," Jacqui responded.

"Hey, Jac-Jac-Jacqui, what's going on in your world?" Jason asked, coming over to chat.

"Not much Jay. How's your movie coming along?"

"Hoping to shoot over summer," Jason responded.

---

Meanwhile over in Jack Bolton's office in the gymnasium, he was scanning over the fax he had just received. As head of the basketball excellence program at East High, he received regular faxes from various sporting bodies in relation to upcoming events, workshops, new products and so forth. Most of it was garbage. But the fax he held in his hand was golden.

He came rushing into the cafeteria, scanning across the room until he found his son and his friends.

"Hey look, coach is coming over. Sup Coach Bolton," Zeke greeted Troy's dad.

"What are you doing here Coach?" Troy asked pointedly. His dad was in clear violation of one of their unspoken rules regarding school time interaction.

"Sorry to intrude on your lunch everyone, but I have some interesting news for Troy."

Troy was purposefully not paying much attention to his dad, instead he focused on the script which Gabriella had sitting on the table in front of them.

"Troy, you know how you got narky last night when I suggested we go to Utah for spring break?"

"Do you need to remind me?"

Troy hadn't been impressed in the slightest. He had been looking forward to having a whole week off without basketball practice, without musical rehearsal – time to just chill out with his mates and now, with his girlfriend.

"Change of plans. We're going to Phoenix."

"Why did you need to march over here during my lunch to inform not only me but all my friends about this?" Troy asked dismissively, not looking up from the script.

"Don't you want to know why the change of plans?"

"Can we talk about this tonight? I'm kinda in the middle of something here," Troy pointed out.

Jack grinned. "Troy, you've been selected for the New Mexico boys high school team to represent our state in the national schools basketball competition."

Jack Bolton now had the complete and undivided attention of his son. Troy's head snapped up, looking sharply at his dad.

"Say what?" he asked incredulously.

"Phoenix, Arizona, spring break. It's the south western division. The round robin is the first weekend of spring break, there's a game each day Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Then the top teams go into the finals. Quarters are Thursday, semis Friday. Big game on Sunday afternoon. The winners of the south western division go on to play off against the rest of the country two weeks after that."

Troy was finding it difficult to string together a coherent sentence; he was in complete and utter disbelief. In the midst of the chaos of the musical rehearsals and the whirlwind of his developing relationship with Gabriella, Troy had completely forgotten about the representative basketball season that follows the city league championships. Which made his selection come as even more of a shock. Troy stood from his place seated next to Gabriella and turned to face his father.

"They picked me?" Troy asked, still comprehending the information. "Me?"

"Yeah son. They picked you."

Jack put his arm around his son's shoulder, giving him a manly half hug. Troy was completely blown away, finding it difficult to form coherent sentences. In his haze, something suddenly occurred to him. He glanced around at his friends, his team mates.

"What about the other guys?"

"Don't worry about us Troy. They almost never pick juniors," Jason said, very genuinely.

Jason was right. The Wildcats team that year had been driven by its junior players, and the fact was that none of them had given a lot of thought to the representative season because they knew that seniors were nearly always picked above juniors.

"Yeah, congratulations man, you deserve it," Chad said emphatically.

Gabriella stood and shyly kissed her boyfriend on the cheek, squeezing his arm. "This is awesome, I am so proud of you," she said excitedly.

Troy found himself surrounded by people giving him hugs, shaking his hand. Zeke took it upon himself to run around the cafeteria, rounding up the other guys in the basketball team to tell them, as well as the cheerleaders. Jack Bolton stood observing the scene, waiting to talk to Troy again.

"I still don't believe you," Troy said, when he was finally able to turn to his father to talk again.

"Take a look at it yourself. Here's a photocopy of the fax. It has the schedule and everything," Jack said, handing Troy the sheets of paper. "They haven't finalised the training schedule yet, we'll have to get in contact with the coach to sort out all of that."

"Okay."

"So tonight, no dawdling. Come straight home from your show practice thing…"

"It's called a **rehearsal** dad," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

"Right… your 'rehearsal.' And we'll organise a training schedule. Need to keep your fitness up."

----------

"Thespians, we have two and a half weeks until the moment of truth will be upon us. Two and a half weeks until our chapel of the arts is open to the public, and we allow them to enter and be exposed to our creative world of the theatre. Until we bring the world of Minnie and Arnold to life," Miss Darbus announced very melodramatically. "Please all take a copy of the sheets I am passing about the room. The sheets being distributed outline the new rehearsal schedule."

Troy scanned the schedule in amazement. Rehearsals were extended until 6; there were a bunch of lunch time rehearsals added for himself and Gabriella to work with the band, as well as an additional Tuesday afternoon rehearsal on top of the Monday, Wednesday and Friday rehearsals.

"Pretty intense, huh?" Troy commented to Gabriella quietly.

"Understatement of the century," Gabriella responded, sounding annoyed. "Taylor is going to kill me. I think we're going to have to schedule decathlon meetings between the hours of 2am and 4am."

Meanwhile Miss Darbus continued to explain the rehearsal schedule.

"On Friday, we are having our first full run through. We're going to bring in the band for the first time. This means that the lyrical aspect of our musical numbers must be completely prepared ready for this rehearsal. We will be running through each of the songs and I don't want to waste the bands time with you people forgetting lyrics and needing to start over."

----------

"You know how your friend Paula asked me today if I was nervous?" Gabriella asked as she and Troy headed home.

"Yeah?"

"I just got nervous," Gabriella admitted. "It just hit me. There really is a show, isn't there? We're not just singing and dancing for fun. People are going to pay money to see us perform."

Troy nodded swallowing. "Apparently so. Why they would want to see us is kind of beyond me."

"We haven't really sang in front of everyone since the call backs. Just a few people, like Kelsi and sometimes Miss Darbus and a few others," Gabriella said, her eyes widening. "There's so many songs, what if I freak out and can't remember the lyrics! Sharpay has been telling Miss Darbus every opportunity she gets about every little mistake I make. You heard Miss Darbus – this Friday, we need to have all that stuff perfect."

"Then let's shift our focus this week to practicing the songs lots instead of dialogue," Troy suggested. "I'm a bit freaked out about the singing in public too. So I figure if we practice the songs regularly, and work on them during drama class with Kelsi's help, we'll have to be prepared, right?"

"I guess." Gabriella still didn't feel confident.

----------

"Would you mind if Gabriella came over one night this week so we could practice our songs? We have a big rehearsal on Friday and she's a little nervous," Troy asked his parents.

"Actually, that works well because I'd been thinking that it might be nice if you invited Gabriella and her mother over for dinner one night," Lucille suggested. "I'd like to spend more time getting to know this girl you're so smitten with, and also it would be good for your father and I to meet her mom."

"Woah woah. That sounds… intense. Introducing parents? Couples who are engaged do that. Living together. In very very serious long term relationships. Not teenagers who have only known each other for a few months."

"Troy, that's exactly why I would like to meet Gabriella's mom. Because you are teenagers. While she is here, we are responsible for her; and when you're at her house, she is responsible for you. A communication line between us is a good thing."

Troy knew his mother all too well. He'd heard her more than once on the phone talking with Mrs Danforth about what the boys have been up to.

"You just want to be able to talk about us," Troy said sourly.

Jack grinned and suppressed a laugh. His son knew all of Lucille's tricks.

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

**So this basketball thing. I invented it. I don't know anything about the schools comp in the US. To me, there should be some sort of TEAM event, like a New Mexico final or something or other. But it makes no sense that this was never referenced in HSM2. I mean like, in the scene in the Bolton household when Fulton calls Troy etc…. and Coach Bolton is talking about how their moves are better and they should stick together and they'll win back to back championships… I took that as a reference just to the championship that they won in HSM1. In HSM2 when Chad and Troy are arguing and Chad says something like "what, if I were as good as you?" I felt all this resentment which I decided I could use to invent this competition; with Troy being selected above the others. I felt this would also warrant that the attention from the Redhawks is genuinely based on his talent; not just because Sharpay made her daddy get them to like Troy. He is genuinely talented. This is for the purpose of foreshadowing for an element of my sequel to HWY which is set post HSM2.**

**I realise all of this is a bit of a stretch when I'm writing a story that is supposed to fit right into the canon. But I have a slight plot attached to this that I feel is really important to justify WHY Troy was all "my singing career began and ended with the winter musical" and why they weren't in a spring musical (which Miss Darbus refers to in HSM1 when she tells the opera singer girl Cindra or whatever her name was 'perhaps the spring musicale'); and also to help to support the rate at which the relationship between Troy and Gabriella would have developed between now in my fic (March) and HSM 2 (June/July/August ish). **

**Re. Paula, Jacqui, Liana – I just want to clarify now that I'm ****NOT**** introducing major OCs. Remember that this is bridging the gap between HSM 1 and 2. In HSM2, you have all these other randoms dancing in the background who are Troy's friends who he has gotten jobs at Lava Springs. Basically, I'm just chucking a bunch of random names around to justify who all these people might be. They might be decathlon people, cheerleaders, people from Twinkle Towne, whatever. The core little crew is our group that we know and love. But there are these others that are around. A whole part of this 'breaking free' of the 'status quo' is not only having the basketball lunkheads realise that they can hang around the "smart chicks" or the "drama geeks" but also breaking down the stereotype that all cheerleaders are slutty hoes. Because they're not. **

**I'm not planning to make Liana some complication; just as Jacqui was never used that way at the party. At the party, Jacqui was a mechanism to allow Troy to then reflect upon his history of relationships with girls; to realise that he didn't just want to hook up with random cheerleaders; that he really does have legitimate feelings for Gabriella. Additionally, I use the potential threat from Liana as a means to get Gabriella to open up to Troy about her feelings. NOT because Troy is going to go off with some floozy; or because Gabriella is going to get into a bitch fight with Liana. So please don't be sitting there thinking 'oh God, not another story where the cheerleader tries to steal Troy away' because that is NOT where I am heading. **


	25. Pressure

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter is in the category of fillery and plot progressing. Sorry if you think it's boring. **

----------

**Chapter 25 – Pressure**

----------

Troy was woken at 5:30 on Tuesday morning by the annoying sound of his ringing alarm. He reached over and slapped the snooze button, barely registering that it had gone off. Less than two minutes later, Jack Bolton was thumping on the door to his room.

"Rise and shine, it's butt kicking time!" Jack shouted.

Jack opened the door and wasn't the slightest bit surprised to see that Troy had chosen to ignore him, and had pulled his pillow over his head.

"Troy. We're going for a run. NOW!"

Troy turned his head, sleepily glaring at his father from underneath the pillow. "This is child abuse."

"No, it's training. You're out of shape, you need to get back into shape by this weekend or you will make a fool of yourself in front of your new team mates."

Despite Troy's incessant complaints, Jack yanked his son out of bed.

"You have two minutes to be in your workout gear and downstairs."

----------

Not only had Coach Bolton organised a very hard core training schedule comprising of morning and evening runs, as well as nightly free throws – but he had also enlisted the assistance of some of Troy's fellow Wildcats. Jack had personally called Chad and asked him to put the pressure on Troy to start playing two on two with the boys more often. Hence why Troy's free period plans to rehearse with Gabriella were destroyed when Chad dragged him to the gym.

"Captain, you're representing our team. It rests on your shoulders to show the rest of our great country that the Wildcats are top shit!"

----------

Since Troy had bailed on Gabriella during free period, lunch period became dialogue rehearsing time, the pair separating themselves from the rest of the group and going over lines.

"Arnold, we come from two separate worlds. I don't think this will ever work," Gabriella said flawlessly, not needing to refer to her script once.

Troy was blank. "Um… but… you… I…" he groaned and picked up the sheet from the table, scanning over. "But you can't just give up so easily, Minnie. If you gave up on everything in life just when it gets tough, how would you ever achieve anything?"

"I'm just being…"

"Gabriella!" Taylor shrieked, clearly in a panic, running into the cafeteria.

Some students looked up, but amongst the din most of them didn't even realise anything out of the ordinary was going on. Gabriella abandoned the line reading, standing up to face Taylor, who sounded completely distraught.

"Tay, are you okay? What happened?"

"The decathlon is tomorrow night!"

Gabriella was confused. "No it's on Friday… remember you were narky because I have our first big rehearsal and can't…"

"No no no it's been changed. It's tomorrow night!"

Gabriella's eyes widened. "What?!?"

"One of the judges has had some emergency or something but the fill in judge has some appointment or something or other and so it means that some other guy was called to fill in but as it turns out this guy can't come on Friday and there's a whole long story that Mr Davis just told me and anyway so it's now here tomorrow night at 6:30. TOMORROW NIGHT! To begin with, Kim isn't here today, apparently she has the flu."

"So we get Martha again," Gabriella said simply, trying to remain calm. There needed to be a voice of reason.

"Oh my God, we so CANNOT be ready by tomorrow! You wanted to go through a whole list of stuff with us! And now you've got all the extra rehearsals and…"

"Taylor!" Gabriella said, raising her voice. "It will be fine. We will meet tonight after my musical rehearsal like we planned. We'll just have to meet until later in the night, so it means the time when I'm at rehearsal will give everyone time to do their homework and stuff. What we need to do now is go and find Mr Davis and get permission to have tomorrow morning off from classes. And then… okay well at least it's here tomorrow night so I guess we'll have a bit of time after my rehearsal…"

"You can't go to rehearsal tomorrow," Taylor said, aghast.

Gabriella glanced at Troy. "Oh no, I have to go. I can't miss another one, no way."

"What if we came to the rehearsal and you kind of flitted back and forth?" Taylor suggested desperately.

"Tay, I know you haven't been to one of these rehearsals but I'm normally pretty busy… there isn't really a lot of flitting opportunity."

"Gabriella, I told you when you realised how big the musical was that you could bail on the team if you wanted. You said, no no, you can juggle the two. Well I am begging you right now – juggle the two. Please. Please. Please please please!"

----------

Since failing his algebra test, Troy had been fairly good about keeping up to date with math homework. Of course Miss Jackson had assigned over twenty homework questions that night; on top of the geography chapter he was supposed to read by the next day. He also had a reading for science class, but decided he would skip that one seeing as he sat next to Gabriella who always had perfectly organised notes he could read from. Meanwhile, he had the first draft of an English assignment due the next day, of which he'd barely read a word of the book the essay was based on.

At 2 o clock in the morning, Troy put down his English novel. He'd wanted to get some notes down but he was at the point of exhaustion where the words on the page were blurring together. He'd skimmed through, catching the gist of the plot. His theory was that the teacher wouldn't expect much for the first draft, just that something had been done. He planned to scribble some notes down during his first few periods the next day and everything would be sweet.

Not only had he been awake for the last 20 hours but it had been an action packed 20 hours, with over three hours of basketball, two hours of musical rehearsal – on top of his regular classes. He'd gotten home after rehearsals and been practically forced into going for an hour long run, followed by another hour of jump shot technique after dinner.

Troy collapsed into bed, making sure his alarm was set. Three and a half hours of sleep was better than nothing.

----------

At 3 in the morning Gabriella wearily closed her textbook. The decathlon team had met at Taylor's house until almost 10pm. Gabriella then went home and rushed through her science reading, printed out the final rough draft of her English assignment ready to hand in the next day, and ploughed through the calculus homework questions. She then spent the next three hours studying from a home economics textbook. Kim was the only person in their team who studied the subject, and Gabriella knew from her past experience that as the decathlon reached the more serious rounds – like city finals – that random subjects not a part of the standard curriculum would be incorporated into the competitions. So she took it upon herself to hope that something would sink into her brain.

"And here's hoping Miss Schultz doesn't call on me to answer any questions in history tomorrow," she said sleepily to herself.

----------

Gabriella succeeded in getting Mr Davis to organise for the team to have the first few periods off the following morning. The team had met in the morning before school to get passes from Mr Davis. Gabriella, Taylor and Martha, who were all in Miss Darbus's homeroom, headed to class to get their names marked off and provide their slips excusing them from class.

"There you are! I was looking for you this morning," Troy said, pleased to see Gabriella.

"We're not staying," Gabriella informed him. "We have the first few periods off."

"So you're not going to be in science?" Troy asked, sounding disappointed.

"Sorry."

"Did you do the reading?" he asked, smiling cutely.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and pulled her folder out of her bag and located the pages where she had taken her very articulate and organised notes, handing them to him. "Don't get it dirty."

"Will you be around at lunch?"

She shook her head. "No, our team will be meeting. So unless I run into you, I'll see you in drama this afternoon."

----------

Miss Darbus clasped her hands together in adoration as Troy and Gabriella finished up their 'What I've Been Looking For' number.

"That was lovely," Miss Darbus said simply. "Simply beautiful."

Troy and Gabriella glanced at each other, smiling broadly.

"Thanks," Troy said, feeling a little awkward. He wasn't used to such blatant praise from Miss Darbus.

"Now, I would next like to see our three sisters rehearse their trio," Miss Darbus announced.

Gabriella ran down the steps to the stage, running through the auditorium and into the foyer.

"Back again," Gabriella announced breathlessly as she joined her decathlon team mates.

They had grouped together a set of desks to the side of the foyer and were sitting around the newly formed larger table, books and stationery scattered across the place.

"Like I was saying, I think there is a strong movement AWAY from Shakespeare so far with the literature questions," Jenna commented. "You've all read everything on the AP English reading list right?"

They all nodded in affirmation.

"I think they'll focus on fiction," Taylor mused. "But if we've all read just about everything, it won't really matter what they focus on."

"It's too late to be thinking about that anyway," Gabriella pointed out. "If we haven't read it, we haven't read it. Nothing can be done about it."

"What had you started to say before about the buzzer round?" Jeremy asked Gabriella.

"Oh! Right. I was just going to say, that last year, I noticed that once you're competing against more than one team, you have the instinct you try to buzz in early because you want to get in first. Resist that urge unless you're sure about what the question will be," she advised. "A lot of the time they purposely word the questions so that if you buzz in early before they finish asking the question, you will answer something that wasn't even being asked."

"Gabriella!" Troy called, poking his head into the foyer. "Darbus wants us again."

Taylor groaned. "Tell the old bat to stick it," she said viciously.

"Taylor!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"I'm sorry but we need you here!"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I'll be back soon, I promise."

As she followed Troy down through the seating towards the stage, Gabriella couldn't help but whinge a little.

"I wish Taylor would calm down. I know this is important to her but she's making me feel like it's my job to prepare them. It's not my fault that Mr Davis has never looked after a decathlon team before. Just because I've been to city finals doesn't mean that I should be responsible for whether we win or lose!"

"It's just how Taylor copes with pressure I guess," Troy said, trying to provide a different perspective. "She stresses and over prepares. I'm sure she doesn't actually consider you responsible."

"Miss Montez, let us go through scene IV from directly before Sharpay and Ryan's duet," Miss Darbus proclaimed. "So I need Miss Holden on stage, Mr Bolton you are in the wing awaiting your cue."

The dialogue was rehearsed with little incident, other than Miss Darbus not being impressed with Troy's continual reference to his script. They went through the scene several times, and were given notes of points to work on for the next rehearsal.

"And now to move onto Ryan and Sharpay's duet, and Troy and Gabriella could you meet with Miss Simmons in the general dressing room."

Gabriella sighed. Any other day, she would have no problem from being busy in rehearsal, moving from rehearsing to song to dialogue to dance. Any other day. But on that day, Gabriella just really wanted to be told "okay, you have a half hour break." Of course it wouldn't actually be a BREAK. She rubbed her temples, feeling the onset of a headache.

Miss Simmons had just wanted to quickly go over some changes she'd made to some of the choreography she had designed for Bop to the Top, pursuant to some advice given to her by Ryan Evans. She admitted that the changes worked and that Troy and Gabriella both seemed to be more comfortable with the new movements than with the previous ones.

Troy and Gabriella emerged from the quick practice, observing the stage area from the wings, awaiting instruction. Sharpay was arguing with the choreographer about her and Ryan's big dance number. Something about the choreography being 'too simple' for her liking. Troy and Gabriella had learnt over the past two months that when Sharpay decided something required change, they should avoid the situation and duck for cover.

"I should go back to my team if they're still doing this one," Gabriella said with a sigh, rubbing her temples.

Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand, entwining his fingers with hers, and led her through the back corridors. Finally he found an empty room, the costume store room. Troy had a glimmer in his eye and a sly smile on his face. Troy held an arm around Gabriella's waist, pulling her towards him.

"I feel like I've hardly seen you this week," he said in a husky whisper, pressing his lips against hers sweetly.

"And yet we've been here every afternoon," Gabriella pointed out.

"I've spent lots of time with Minnie…" Troy kissed her lightly on the nose. "But not with Gabriella. I want Gabriella time." He kissed her again, this time softly on the lips. "With Sharpay going on like she is, everyone will be busy with her for a while. Meaning we won't be needed." He kissed her again, this time his lips lingering a moment longer. "And I think that you need some time to relax and not think about this decathlon. You're right when you tell Taylor that you need to be in a calm space when you're competing – believe me I know that." Another kiss.

"And how do you suggest I relax?" Gabriella asked slyly.

"With more of this," Troy said softly.

Troy's lips lingered longer still, encouraging their mouths to open slightly. The next kiss, his tongue entwined with Gabriella's briefly. The short kisses became a longer, passionate kiss.

"Gabriella?" Taylor's voice called just outside.

He groaned and suggested softly, "Perhaps we just pretend we're not here."

Gabriella sighed and pulled him toward the door. "I have to. You know that."

Troy pouted but he did know. He nodded.

"Taylor?" Gabriella called after her.

----------

Whether you attribute it to some sort of divine intervention; Gabriella's powers of persuasion; or just plain luck – somehow Gabriella convinced Miss Darbus to allow her to leave rehearsal a whole hour early at 5 on the dot. Therefore providing an hour and a half between the rehearsal and the commencement of the decathlon. Gabriella and her decathlon team mates escaped to their usual classroom, going over last minute strategy and generally keeping one another motivated and calm.

Just after 6, a knock came at the door.

"What?!" Taylor called irritably.

The door creaked open, and Troy and Chad popping their heads around from either direction.

"Come in, would be the polite term," Chad said.

"We're busy," Taylor said bluntly.

"Which we know very well," Troy responded. "And is why we're not staying."

"We just brought you a present," Chad said.

"Tada!" they said simultaneously, each revealing two pizza boxes they'd been holding out of eyesight behind the wall.

"You can't compete on an empty stomach," Troy said, setting the pizza boxes down on the table. The decathletes swarmed around.

"How did you guys do this? You would have only just left rehearsal," Martha queried.

"I messaged Chad an hour ago and asked him to bring them," Troy answered.

Gabriella kissed Troy softly on the lips. "Don't I have the most amazing boyfriend ever?"

"You guys rock!" Freddie declared, digging into the pizza.

"Gabriella, I take it all back. If Troy brings us pizza more often, then I'm fine with you texting on your cell during our meetings," Jeremy added.

"Well actually it was CHAD who brought the pizza," Chad said under his breath.

Taylor, rather impulsively, went over to Chad and kissed him softly on the cheek.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Chad grinned broadly. "You're welcome."

"Anyway enjoy, we're going to leave you guys to keep… doing whatever it is you do," Troy said, gesturing to all of their belongings.

"Kick ass!" Chad encouraged them. "We'll be watching!"

"You'll be watching?" Gabriella queried.

"Us… and some others. Support your school and all," Troy said.

"You guys are going to be loud and embarrassing, aren't you?" Jenna asked, aghast.

"Please don't!" Taylor begged. "This isn't a basketball game! There is a very serious and formal protocol at these events."

"Got you," Troy said, keeping a straight face.

"Right. Understood. Serious and formal," Chad said sombrely.

The boys glanced at each other, exchanging wicked smiles. Serious and formal were seldom used words in the vocabularies of Chad Danforth and Troy Bolton.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yeah so... a bit blah, but necessary for a bunch of boring mundane logistical issues to do with my little timeline of when things have to occur and... I won't bore you with more explanation. Up next chapter is the decathlon - and then the chapter after that I promise it will pick up and become a bit more interesting again! **


	26. The Decathlon

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: On Wednesday night I went and saw a stage show production of High School Musical by this local youth summer performing arts school thing. It was sooooo good! I mean, not as good at the movie, there are of course advantages to being able to cut and pause and reshoot things. But there were elements that I really really liked, bits that they added to make it appropriate for stage that I thought worked really really well. Ie – When There Was Me And You became a duet with Troy! It was absolutely gorgeous. And the detention scene was very different and freaking HILARIOUS with the kids acting like various animals and stuff.**

**Anywho… here is chapter 26. It's the decathlon. Woot woot. As you're reading, I want you to keep a particular image from HSM1 in mind. It's the one at the decathlon where they show the crowd shot with Gabi's mom as Gabriella and the other dude are writing the equationish stuff on the whiteboards. And then the crowd is all "yes!!!! Woohoo!" when she gets it right. As in – with the right influence they could be converted into even louder cheerier fans! **

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**Chapter 26 – The Decathlon**

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Since being exposed to Gabriella and subsequently, the life of a member of a scholastic decathlon team, Troy had been amazed by just how dedicated these kids were to this competition. He'd never really thought of those who were inclined towards academic extra curricular activities as putting in the hard yards like the members of an athletic team would. But the number of hours and the sheer energy that these kids put into the decathlon was astounding. It seemed unfair that they put so much into it and got so little public support from the other kids. Which is why Troy had taken it upon himself to ensure that the East High Scholastic Decathlon team was given the support that they deserved.

He roped in Jason, Zeke and Chad with ease. Then, he'd brought up the competition casually at lunch time when he was talking to Paula. When Gabriella wasn't around, his female friends predominantly of the cheerleading persuasion seemed a whole lot less hesitant to approach the boys to talk. Troy couldn't have been more surprised when Paula said –

"The competition sounds really interesting. Can anyone go watch them compete?"

Paula then roped in Monica, another one of the junior cheerleaders, to come along with her; as well as Jacqui. Who indicated intention of inviting a couple of her friends to come watch.

With Gabriella's continual disappearances throughout rehearsal, Troy had been able to zip around the theatre and rope in some more support. Kelsi was easily talked into coming, in particular she had seemed happy with the notion that 'Jason and the others' would be there. A few other Twinkle Towne cast members seemed interested, and seeing as they were already around at school figured there was no harm in hanging around. Katie, who had bonded fairly well with Gabriella in the time they'd spent together playing sisters, was particularly excited about attending. The members of the decathlon squad had a scattering of brothers and sisters from the younger grades at East High who were in attendance.

Hence why, fifteen minutes before the scholastic decathlon was due to start, a small crowd was forming in the classroom. Between the crowd that Troy had roped in and various brothers, sisters, moms, dads and staff members of East High – they filled almost half of the spectator area. To accommodate four teams, the decathlon was being held in the general studies wing which had a set of three classrooms which could be combined to form one large room by pulling back the dividers between rooms.

The student delegation orchestrated by Troy had gotten right into the spirit. The cheerleaders who were in attendance were in full cheer squad costume, the rest wearing some variation of red and white. Artistic genes had been tapped into, with a large sign in tow reading "Wildcats in the House!"

---

The East High decathlon team were in a nearby classroom, standing in a huddled circle, arms around one another's shoulders.

"Whatever happens… I just want to thank you guys for making this season so, so fantastic," Jeremy said. "I'm glad that in my senior year we've been able to really accomplish something. And hopefully it swings our way and we can accomplish even more!"

"Not hopefully… it will," Taylor said, trying to sound confident. "We can do this! We know the stuff. We know the strategy. Now… we just have to win."

---

"I'll be right back. I'm just going to say hi to Gabriella's mom," Troy informed the group.

He squeezed his way out of their row and headed down a couple of rows where Miss Montez was sitting on the aisle. "Hi Miss Montez!"

Elena turned around and looked up, smiling upon seeing Troy. "Why hello there. Brought along a cheer squad tonight I see?"

"Well the team deserves some support from this school," Troy said. "There's more to East High than basketball."

"I called your mother, everything is set for dinner tomorrow night which I am very much so looking forward to," Elena informed him. "It was very nice of her to invite us over."

"Yes, I'm sure it will be a good night," he said, trying to sound polite. The truth was that he wasn't entirely happy about the introducing the parents concept; but he would smile and go along with it if it kept his mom and dad happy.

"Gabriella told me about your selection for the state basketball team, congratulations, you must be very proud."

"I'm stoked. I'm still kind of in disbelief. We have our first training this weekend, so it'll kick in once I'm with the other guys in the team."

An announcement came over the PA that there were five minutes until the proceedings would begin.

"Well I should get back to the cheer squad. I hope you enjoy all of the equations and what not!"

Elena laughed gently. "Bye Troy."

---

Earlier in the afternoon, Troy had begged Zeke and Jason to volunteer to assist with setting up the general studies block for the decathlon. The assistance of the athletic basketballers was greatly appreciated by the ladies from the mathematics faculty who had been left in charge of lugging the desks around. Mr Davis arrived with four professional looking signs with the names of the competing schools upon them, to place in front of each of the relevant sets of desks. Zeke and Jason made quick work of the East High area, having acquired red and white streamers, draping them along the front of the desks, leaving them hanging down, and around the sign.

One by one, the teams entered into the room. The first team to enter was the team from St. Francis Academy, a catholic school situated in the outskirts of the city; soon followed by the Angleton High team and not long after that the Crossville High team. Each team entered quietly and calmly, taking seats at the relevant set of tables. A few funny looks were thrown in the direction of the highly decorated East High area. A girl from Crossville High, not wanting to be outdone, ran forward with a large teddy bear dressed in blue and green Crossville colours and placing it beside the sign. All of the supporters remained relatively quiet. A few team coaches and parents caught the eyes of their protégés and children giving reassuring smiles and thumbs up.

Troy was struck by the formality of it. Just as cheering crowds were heavily ingrained into basketball culture, this was a part of the world of academia. The deafening silence compounding the pressure and tension.

"Maybe we need to abort the plan," Troy whispered to Chad.

"You're a wimp," was Chad's reply.

Last, but certainly not least, the East High team strode in just minutes before the competition was due to start. Gabriella had given them a speech about appearing confident and control, to not let their opponents see any nerves or hesitation. They marched into the room in a straight line, Taylor in the lead, followed closely by Gabriella and the rest of the team.

"What team?" Chad shouted.

"Wildcats!!!" came the excited reply from the East High contingent.

Jeremy, Martha and Gabriella were all excited at the support, grinning widely and waving at the crowd. Jeremy had spent three years on the decathlon team, three years working without support. It felt good to finally be acknowledged. Martha similarly liked the attention, her dancing genes taking over, the truth was the girl loved to ham it up for a crowd. Gabriella, much to her own surprise, wasn't fussed. Singing in public still freaked her out, but in the world of the decathlon, she was in charge. She was in control. The national finals the year before had featured crazy screaming crowds as well, as she was accustomed to the attention in this setting.

Freddie, on the other hand, was livid.

"Don't they KNOW about decathlon protocol?" he hissed. "Decathlons require decorum. THIS is not decorum!"

Taylor was mortified.

"Damn you Gabriella Montez for going out with Troy Bolton. This is all your fault. WHY are they all here? The cheerleaders do realise this is about math and science; not make up and celebrities?"

Most of the rest of the team were slightly embarrassed, but could deal with the situation. It didn't particularly bother them neither here nor there. They proceeded to take their seats and set up their desks.

---

Meanwhile in the East High Supporters camp, Chad was waving wildly at the girls.

"I don't think Taylor has seen us," Chad said to Troy.

"Of course she knows you're here, she's ignoring you. You're the one who quoted Taylor saying how serious and formal it is," Zeke pointed out.

"Why don't you call out?" Troy suggested to Chad, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yo Taylor!!!" Chad called, waving again.

Taylor looked up, appearing completely mortified. Troy snickered.

"Smooth man. I wasn't being serious."

---

"Fair enough the boys coming but EVERYONE!" Taylor hissed at Gabriella.

"Stop whinging Tay, they're here, deal with it!" Gabriella replied.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, if you could please take your seats, we will begin the formalities of tonight's event. Welcome to the Albuquerque final of the National Scholastic Decathlon competition. We welcome the four premier teams from the Albuquerque region. Angleton High…" the announcer paused as the audience applauded politely. "Crossville High School." More polite applause. "St. Francis Academy." Even more polite applause. "And our hosts for this evening, East High School."

"What team?" Chad shouted.

"Wildcats!" came the loud reply from the rest of the East High gang, followed by loud cheers, whoops and hollers.

Gabriella couldn't help but grin. If looks could kill, both Freddie and Taylor would have been up for multiple homicides. Horrified by the severe breakage of decathlon etiquette.

"This evening will comprise of ten rounds. The schedule of rounds is outlined in the agenda which you were handed upon entry. Students will be challenged in a broad range of academic disciplines in a variety of formats. Rounds 1, 4, 6, 7 and 10 are all team based rounds; Rounds 2 and 8 will require teams to select representatives on their behalf; Rounds 3, 5 and 9 test students individually, with the average score of the team counting towards the team total."

The announcer paused. "Audience members are reminded that quiet must be maintained whilst participants in the process of answering questions. Any suspicions of assistance or interference from audience members will be treated very seriously, with severe penalties for infringing teams."

"Like we could help them," Troy muttered to Chad.

----------

The first five rounds indicated that the race was clearly a tight one between East High and Crossville High. The two schools kept switching backwards and forwards from being a couple of points in front of the other; the other two schools trailing by about 10 points.

The cheersquad remained in full force and duplicated. Parents and teachers gradually caught onto the 'what team' 'wildcats' catchcry that was called consistently – at appropriate times of course. The Crossville High supporters, who also had a good number, gradually began to become more immersed in the chanting cheering atmosphere, with 'Go Crossville!' cheers echoing throughout the room.

East High managed to obtain the lead going into the break. Monica, Jacqui and Paula broke into a spontaneous cheer.

"Wildcats everywhere, wave your hands up in the air, wildcats in the house, everybody sing out, wildcats everywhere, wave your hands up in the air…."

Prompting the teachers from Crossville High to encourage the supporters to join in with an oldie but a goodie.

"Gimme a C…. C!... Gimme an R… R!... Gimme an O…. O!..."

The Wildcat cheerleaders were not outdone.

"School pride let's show it, we're champions and we know it, Wildcats are the best, red white and gold!"

The teams had remained at their desks on stage, quickly discussing strategies for the remainder of the competition.

"They do realise this isn't a basketball game," Freddie said irritably.

"Oh be quiet. You're just protesting for the sake of protesting. You have to admit, it feels good knowing we have support. And it's throwing the Crossville team off. Why do you think their teachers are now trying to boost them up?" Martha said.

Freddie was silent.

"So… Round 8… who are we picking?" Jeremy asked.

----------

The sixth round was a blind category round – teams would select a number, the number would correspond to a subject area which the team would then answer questions from within.

"East High, as the team going in with the lead, you have first choice of any of these numbers. They have been randomly allocated a category."

"Four," Taylor said randomly.

The envelope was opened.

"And the topic for East High is – physical education."

The East High team exchanged worried looks. The other teams smiled at one another, a couple of the members of the Crossville High team actually snickered. The fact was that very few students participating in scholastic decathlons actually took physical education as a subject. Gabriella had been concerned about this fact in the lead up – it had been on her list of things she wanted them to research because between the members of their team, physical education was the only major area none of them studied.

"For this topic, East High, you get to select one of three sports which are included in the standard senior curriculum. The questions will be in relation to the rules, procedures and strategies associated with that sport. To select from we have tennis, basketball and soccer."

The members of the team had a quick whispered conversation.

"I don't know anything about any of those," Jenna said.

"I watch tennis," Jeremy said, not very helpfully. "I don't understand a lot of it."

The rest of the team nodded in agreement, turning to Taylor as their team captain. Decisions like this were left to her.

"Gabriella, what do you think?" Taylor asked.

"It's a comprehension skills test," Gabriella said nervously.

"What, a comprehension test of, 'how much do you pay attention to your boyfriends when they talk?'" Martha asked.

"Chad is not my…" Taylor began to say, but then stopped herself. "This is not the time. We're doing basketball then?"

Gabriella nodded. She didn't look certain, but then again, she wasn't going to be certain about any of the three options.

"East High, we need a selection," the announcer requested.

"Basketball," Taylor said warily into the microphone.

In the audience, the boys exchanged amused looks.

"You will have 60 seconds to answer each question. You are allowed to confer between yourselves prior to answering. In the event that more information is required and time is remaining on the clock, the adjudicator will identify that the answer is incomplete. Any questions?"

East High shook their heads and the round began.

"How many points are awarded for a successful shot?"

"2 points – 3 if it is beyond the 3 point arc," Taylor responded.

"If the ball handler does not dribble the ball whilst moving both feet…"

"Travelling!" Gabriella said pre-emptively.

"Correct. What is the objective of obtaining the rebound?

"To get possession after a missed shot, as it rebounds from the hoop or the backboard," Taylor answered.

"Correct. Describe a pick."

"The pick is the one who makes sure that the other players are freed up to take the shot. They will block a move that an offensive player is making – for example by standing beside a defender – then allowing one of their teammates to shoot, or receive a pass," Gabriella said, surprised by how easily she was able to answer the question.

"For the next question, we have a visual."

A topographical picture of a basketball court flashed up. There were five numbers in random places across the court.

"This is an illustration of the standard offensive positions which are taught in high schools. Please identify the titles of the five positions."

Taylor stifled a snort and looked at Gabriella, shrugging. "Not a clue," she whispered.

Gabriella was searching her memory. "I know this," she said slowly.

It had been in the days leading up to the call backs, the first round of the decathlon, and the basketball championship game. She was meeting Troy before homeroom out the front of the school. He had a little whiteboard on his lap and was writing out what she learnt were potential plays. Instead of rehearsing like planned, she wound up asking him to explain what he was doing – and in the process he drew out the basic diagram which was on the board. At that moment, Gabriella was very, very grateful for her photographic memory.

Gabriella spoke carefully into the microphone. She pointed to each of the positions as she identified the labels. "Uh… you have the centre… and the small forward… and the power forward… and the shooting guard… and…."

Her eyes widened, realising her brain had gone blank.

Troy threw his hands up in the air. He couldn't believe that of all of the information that Gabriella had actually retained from his endless basketball discussion, she couldn't remember what position he played.

Taylor shot a look at Gabriella. "Come on!" she hissed.

Gabriella looked at Taylor wildly. "It's Troy's position! Oh God he is going to kill me."

The time keeper sounded the bell warning that there were ten seconds remaining.

It hit Gabriella suddenly, she wasn't even sure where it came from.

"Point guard!" she cried, biting her lip. She glanced into the crowd for the first time in the segment. Troy was grinning.

"Correct. And for the final question, please select any of those five positions and provide a role description."

Taylor whispered to Gabriella. "Do you want me?"

Gabriella shook her head. "I got this. Ironically as I couldn't remember the name of his position, I actually know a bit about it."

"Okay then. I trust you."

"The point guard sets up the plays, organising the team's offense. He assesses the situation and makes sure that the ball gets to the right player at the right time. They play a big role in bringing the ball down court after getting an offensive rebound."

"One more piece of information required," the adjudicator said. "Thirty seconds."

"Jumpshot," Taylor whispered in Gabriella's ear.

Gabriella smiled at Taylor gratefully.

"They also score points from the perimeter – predominantly in the form of a jump shot," she added.

As the round came to a close, the other teams were looking completely dejected. The perfect opportunity to overtake East High and they had managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat, losing only one point in the whole round – when Taylor had labelled one of the defensive strategies as 'man on man' rather than 'man to man'.

"We were just tested on cafeteria skills," Taylor said incredulously.

"If we win tonight, I am so asking Coach Bolton to give us some lessons about the PE curriculum. We so lucked out," Gabriella said.

"Gift horse Gabriella," Martha advised. "Take it."

----------

"Oh my God I can't believe we're in the New Mexico final!" Taylor's shriek could be heard throughout the auditorium.

As it turned out, Coach Bolton's assistance was indeed going to be required. East High pipped Crossville at the post, maintaining their lead and increasing it throughout the final speed round. They were not only the Albuquerque city champions – but they were also through to the New Mexico final.

The team was surrounded by teachers, families and peers giving congratulations, hand shakes and hugs. Troy had ran up to Gabriella from behind, picking her up and hugging her from behind.

"Come on, I want to hear it," Chad announced. "Thank us for imparting our basketball wisdom."

Taylor rolled her eyes. "We could have picked tennis and we would have done just fine."

"Whatever," Jason said with a snicker.

"I would have killed you if you had forgotten point guard," Troy said to Gabriella.

"I know you would have," Gabriella replied. "I think I was more worried about you being angry than about missing the point!"

"I can't believe how much you girls actually know about basketball. I don't know half of that stuff and I've watched dozens of games!" Monica exclaimed.

"I've never watched a basketball game in my life," Gabriella said. "Imagine how amazed I am that I actually knew that much!"

"You've never watched a basketball game, EVER?" Chad asked incredulously.

Gabriella shook her head. "Nope."

Troy narrowed his eyes. "That's it. You're dumped."

Gabriella pouted. "You wouldn't."

"Promise you'll watch a basketball game with me then?" Troy teased.

"I suppose."

"Okay then. You're not dumped."

"Oh my God I can't believe we're in the New Mexico final!"

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE: The nerd in me had to cover a decathlon in more detail. As boring as it may have been. I would just like to acknowledge that before writing this I knew NOTHING about basketball and did sooooo much research to write this chapter it's not funny. I just hope my sources were reliable. They never actually say that Troy is point guard but from what we're told in the movies (i.e. - the playmaker dude, focusing on jump shots etc...) and then from the descriptions I've read, I deduce this would be his position; although I've read differently in other fan fics. Meh. Despite all original intentions to stick with canon, I seem to drifting further and further away. Oh well.**

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**You can look forward to Chapter 27 where Elena and Gabriella Montez join the Bolton family for dinner. **

_**A Preview…**_

"_Don't let your mother see that," Jack warned. "She already wants me to talk to you about sex."_

"_Oh God dad, are you serious?"_

"_Well do I need to talk to you about it?" Jack asked._

"_No! No you don't. We were just kissing," Troy said exasperatedly. _

"_As long as that's all it was," Jack warned. _


	27. Letting You Inside

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. I have no association with the band Lifehouse. I also directly sourced a random element of this chapter (the guest china) from Buffy, so thanks goes to Joss Whedon and his team, and Kristine Sutherland's adorable depiction of Joyce Summers which I channel a lot when I'm writing Lucille Bolton!**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've said it and will keep saying it, thank you times a zillion to those who have been reviewing and supporting this story, and especially to the wave of people who have all of a sudden seemed to have caught on and understood where I'm coming from! You all rock my HSM merchandise filled world. Your reviews both touch me and more importantly motivate me to keep writing, so pretty please keep them coming!**

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**Chapter 27 – Letting You Inside**

_Looking at you  
Holding my breath  
For once in my life  
I'm scared to death  
I'm taking a chance  
Letting you inside_

_First Time - Lifehouse_

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Gabriella was seated in the middle of the couch in the Bolton lounge room, Troy on her left and her mom sitting on her right. Jack and Lucille Bolton were sitting in the arm chairs on either side of the couch. She was strangely nervous. She and Troy had agreed that introducing parents was a bad idea – however Elena had loved the idea and had called Lucille personally the previous afternoon to thank her for the invitation and offer to bring a bottle of wine along.

Gabriella hadn't been back to the Bolton household since the Sunday before when she was certain that Lucille had been watching her and Troy in the backyard – more specifically, watching her and Troy kissing in the backyard. She was going to find it difficult to look her in the eye. Troy's concern was more aligned with his mother's tendency to gossip and tell embarrassing stories. Troy had worked hard to keep Chad's mouth shut from revealing every embarrassing incident that had ever taken place to Gabriella. The last thing Troy wanted was for not only Gabriella but also Gabriella's mom to be informed of such detail.

Despite their hesitation, introductions had gone smoothly. Lucille and Elena seemed to get along instantly, which Troy wasn't sure to consider a blessing or a burden, given his mothers habit of calling Mrs Danforth on a regular basis to check and see whether Troy had actually been there the prior afternoon.

They'd gone to sit in the living room while the chicken finished roasting in the oven. For both Gabriella and Troy, it felt strange to be sitting right beside one another and not touching in one way or another, whether it be holding hands or Troy's hand resting on her knee.

"Troy told us all about the decathlon last night Gabriella, congratulations!" Jack said. "It's always great to see East High succeeding in different areas."

"Thanks Coach Bolton."

"I don't know how you find time for it all," Lucille commented incredulously. "Decathlon meetings and rehearsals and you still manage to find time to study and get fantastic grades?"

"I've always been good at time management," Gabriella commented, blushing a little.

"Gabriella doesn't need to study to get good grades," Troy informed his mother.

She slapped his arm gently. "I do too study! I study every night, thank you very much. Half the time when I'm talking to you on the phone I'm doing homework."

"Men can't multi task like us women," Lucille said knowingly.

"Hey!" came the simultaneous defensive reply from both Troy and Jack.

"Troy hasn't done too badly for himself with the New Mexico team," Elena pointed out.

"They have their first boot camp this weekend, we're hosting it here in Albuquerque. I think the boys will be in for a shock. I remember my days on the New Mexico high school team…" Jack said, with a reminiscent sigh.

"So the team is here all weekend?" Gabriella queried.

Troy looked over at her, suddenly realising. "I didn't tell you, did I?"

"It's okay. We hadn't made any official plans or anything."

"Yeah but we always go out on weekends. Plus you probably want to celebrate your decathlon win and…"

"We always?" Gabriella queried, a smile toying on her lips. "Three weekends count as we always?"

"You know what I mean."

"Troy I'm not upset. I know this is really important to you, and I'm so proud of you for making it onto the team. Taylor has been at me to spend some social time with her so it's all good."

Elena and Lucille exchanged a look, smiling. As scary as it was for a mother realising that your child is growing up – it was also cute watching them.

"Are you sure? I mean, I'll probably have Saturday night free. We're billeting some of the other guys here but that doesn't mean I have to spend my time with them. And I'll have to be up early on Sunday but that's okay, if you wanted to catch a movie or…"

"Troy, I think we can handle a weekend apart," Gabriella cut in.

"I think if Taylor has any input you'll be studying for the decathlon all weekend long," Elena remarked. "She was so excited last night."

"When is your next round?" Lucille asked.

"The weekend after next, it's the New Mexico final. It's in Rio Rancho," Gabriella answered. "I'm so excited, I get to see more of New Mexico!"

"It's not that exciting," Troy informed her.

"Don't destroy my excitement. It's all new for me."

Lucille popped back into the kitchen to check on how the meal was coming along, leaving Jack, Troy, Gabriella and Elena to continue to chat.

"Troy, did I tell you that Coach Mason wants you on the golf team again?" Jack asked Troy.

Troy groaned. "No, but he did pull me up the other day when I walked past him in the hallway. He put the pressure on. I told him I just don't have time at the moment, that I'd have to wait until after the musical and see."

"You play golf?" Gabriella queried.

Troy shrugged. "Sort of."

"Troy is an excellent golfer. Coach Mason seems to think that if he applied himself he could make a go of it on the amateur circuit," Coach Bolton boasted.

"It's just a bit of fun. Basketball has always and will always be the sport for me," Troy said.

Lucille came back into the room momentarily. "Dinner is nearly ready. Troy, could you please help set the table?"

Troy obediently followed his mother into the dining room.

"You can get the guest china out of the hall cupboard, there should be a table cloth in there as well," Lucille instructed.

"Mom, the guest china? It's only Gabriella and Miss Montez."

"Only Gabriella? I'm sure she'd love to hear you say that," Lucille teased.

"Very funny. I'm just saying, I don't think Gabriella and her mom are going to care what kind of china we use."

"Indulge me Troy, we don't have company very often."

Troy rolled his eyes but complied, pulling out not only the table cloth and fancy china, but also the fancy cutlery and cloth serviettes. Troy was in the process of folding the serviettes into fans when, unbeknownst to him, his mother had ushered the rest of the group into the dining room.

"Basketball, singing, horticulture, golf, and now table arranging?" Gabriella remarked as she entered the room.

"Zeke taught me during history one day," Troy told her, defending his manhood.

"During history?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. "You were folding fans out of serviettes?"

"Uh… yes… well, it was pieces of paper actually. Uh… we… we were studying the ancient table arranging methods of the uh… of the Egyptians," Troy said lamely, pulling back a chair and indicating for Gabriella to sit.

Gabriella stifled a giggle while the adults shared amused looks.

----------

Dinner was relatively uneventful. Elena was a good cook, however she was so busy with work that she rarely had time to cook the way she liked to. Between she and Gabriella they would throw together simple but healthy meals. She oohed and aahed over Lucille's roast chicken, marvelling at the home made honey mustard sauce recipe and the herbs she had used with the meat. Lucille of course insisted that it was nothing and just something she threw together.

Other than recipe conversation, the small talk consisted primarily of the adults talking about their jobs; Elena as a human resource manager at a financial institution; Lucille as a nurse at Albuquerque General Hospital. There was also a bit of conversation about the musical, with the kids being asked about how rehearsals were progressing. All three parents had purchased tickets and Lucille invited Elena to come along to watch the show with her and Jack, a prospect which pleased Elena.

Lucille began to stack plates once everyone was finished with their meals.

"Don't worry about cleaning up Lucy, let me help you," Gabriella said insistently.

"I'll help her," Troy said immediately.

"Troy Alexander Bolton, are my ears deceiving me or are you actually volunteering without coercion to clean up?" Lucille asked.

"Yes mother you heard right. You can all go and sit in the lounge room and… do whatever it is you do."

"Talk about you?" Jack asked with a grin.

Troy glared at his father witheringly.

"Would you like another glass of wine?" Lucille asked Elena.

"Sounds lovely."

The adults headed into the lounge room, and almost immediately Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella's waist and pulled her close.

"Oh my God I've been waiting to do this all night," he murmured, bringing his lips down to meet hers in a passionate kiss.

The sound of a clearing throat interrupted them from the doorway. Troy and Gabriella pulled away, looking up sheepishly to see Jack Bolton standing there.

"Troy... may I have a word?" he asked.

Gabriella cleared her throat, clearly embarrassed. "I'll just take these into the kitchen," she managed to say, picking up a pile of plates and heading into the next room. Troy turned to his father, waiting expectantly for the lecture.

"Don't let your mother see that," Jack warned. "She already wants me to talk to you about sex."

"Oh God dad, are you serious?"

"Well do I need to talk to you about it?" Jack asked.

"No! No you don't. We were just kissing," Troy said exasperatedly.

"As long as that's all it was," Jack warned.

----------

After finishing cleaning up in the kitchen, Troy and Gabriella entered the lounge room right as Lucille was hunting through the cabinet.

"Here it is," she declared triumphantly.

Troy looked over, seeing that his mother had located a photo album; specifically, it was a photo album which he was well aware featured baby and toddler photos.

"Mo-om, do you have to?" he whined.

"If it makes you feel better Troy, when I have you and your parents over for dinner I'll bring out Gabriella's childhood photos," Elena said with a sly smile. "There's a cute one of her when she was about three years old in her underwear pulling our cat Zac's tail."

"Mom you wouldn't!" Gabriella was mortified.

"If you kids want to go up and start rehearsing, it's fine," Lucille encouraged. "Spare Troy from being around for the embarrassment."

"Okay, come on Gabi," Troy said quickly, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the staircase.

"But I wanna see," Gabriella said cutely, glancing back at the photo albums. She had no doubt that Troy would have been one of those kids that you just look at and know they will grow up to be utterly gorgeous.

"I'm sure my mom will provide you with a private showing any time if you ask her nicely," Troy said.

"You know me so well sweetheart," Lucille called after them.

Troy turned around and glared at his mother as he followed Gabriella up the stair case.

"I'm glad they found each other," Elena said. "Troy is a really wonderful boy… it's nice to see my Gabi happy for once."

Lucille nodded in agreement. "Troy is one of the good ones… he's always been reasonably happy but there's just this spark in him now that wasn't there before."

The mothers fell silent as they could hear their son and daughter upstairs singing 'Breaking Free.'

"They're very good," Elena commented, her pride evident. "I never, ever would have thought that my daughter could be a singer. Always with her nose in a book, very shy. It's amazing how she's come out of her shell."

"Believe me, I know how you feel. Do you ever think that I would have expected my basketball star son to take up theatre as an extra curricular activity?"

Elena studied the other woman carefully. "Does it bother you?"

"Oh no, not in the slightest. I think it's fantastic," Lucille said very genuinely. "I love my husband, and I love that they share a special bond driven by their common love for basketball. But at the same time, I think it's healthy that Troy has other interests. I'm proud that he's been able to deal with the peer pressure and to just do what he seems to be really enjoying."

"What about Jack?" Elena asked softly, gesturing towards the study where Lucille's husband had disappeared to.

Lucille paused. "It's taking him a little longer to adjust. Ultimately I know he wants Troy to be happy. It's just difficult for him to comprehend that this is what is making Troy happy."

----------

The women continued to chat until about 9:00, Jack coming in and out of the study periodically to join them. Elena glanced at her watch, surprised to see that it was getting late.

"I should get going, I have a big presentation in the morning so I will be getting up early. Thank you so much for dinner Lucille, it's been wonderful," Elena said warmly.

Elena's life revolved around her work and daughter. Being a middle aged single parent, it was hard to socialise and make friends beyond the acquaintances through the office. Additionally, given how frequently she had transferred, it made developing friendships even harder. It had been refreshing to enjoy some adult female company.

"I'll show you up to Troy's room so we can get the kids," Lucille said, and led Elena upstairs. She knocked on Troy's door.

"Yeah?" he called.

Lucille opened the door. Gabriella and Troy were sitting cross legged on his bed, across from one another, pages of sheet music scattered about in front of them.

"Sweetheart, I need to get going," Elena told Gabriella.

"But mom, we still have two more songs to go through," Gabriella protested.

"If Gabriella wants to stay and rehearse, that's fine," Lucille told Elena.

Gabriella nodded and looked at her mom pleadingly.

"It's a school night Gabi…"

"I know, I know, home by 11."

"Call me and I'll come pick you up," Elena told her daughter.

"You needn't worry about that Elena, Troy can take our car and drop her home," Lucille said warmly.

----------

Given Coach Bolton's reservations towards Twinkle Towne, Gabriella had worried that she would find it difficult to rehearse the songs at Troy's house. They'd only covered dialogue and dance in their previous private rehearsals, saving the music for school time when they had Kelsi's assistance. But Lucy had been so enthusiastic and encouraging that it made up for Jack's hesitation. Using the tape that Kelsi had made them of the piano accompaniment, they had gone through each of the songs twice through.

Gabriella's nerves about the rehearsal the following day were clearly unwarranted. She had memorised each of the songs and her performances were almost flawless. Troy, on the other hand, was struggling. The recollection of lyrics was his biggest problem. Gabriella had the advantage of a somewhat photographic memory. Troy, however, was constantly referring to his sheet music.

"Argh! Darbus is going to kill me tomorrow!" Troy groaned. "I should know all this by now. We go over it all the time. I have the demos on my damn Ipod!"

"I think that when the pressure is on, you'll find that you know it better than you think you do," Gabriella advised.

She was trying to remain optimistic, but the truth was that it concerned her that Troy was struggling so much.

"It was hard enough as it was fitting in everything in my life. But now, my head is hurting thinking about this next month," Troy said softly. "Don't get me wrong, I'm really excited about the musical, and I'm really glad I was picked for the team. But… it's just a lot of stuff all at once. All these extra practices, I have to go out of town next weekend. And dad has recruited the Wildcats to help keep me into shape – it's like we never finished our own season, that's how often he wants me training. Every morning he wants me up running, every night practicing. I just… I'm not sure when I'm going to have time for anything else… for anyone else…"

Gabriella took his hand, and started to gently trace a pattern on the back of his palm as she spoke.

"It's okay that we're not going to have a lot of time to spend together you know. You don't have to feel sorry. Don't feel like you have to be awake and running around 24/7 so you can fit in time so we can go out. I don't want to see you completely burn out. We still have heaps of time together – classes at school, rehearsals."

"Yeah but… like I said yesterday. I want Gabriella time. Not Minnie time or lab partner time."

"We can make time. Just… just not as much time," Gabriella said. "Truth is, I'm going to be busy with the decathlon preparation as well. If the New Mexico final goes well, we'll have the south western regional final a few weeks after that. You know what Tay has been like just with these city rounds? It's going to be like that times ten."

"I guess… I guess these moments where we're alone just you and me aren't going to happen very often, are they?" Troy commented pointedly, tracing his finger up Gabriella's arm, shoulder, neck and then chin.

"So when we do have them… we have to make them count… right?" Gabriella asked, catching onto his innuendo.

Their lips met in a soft kiss; warm tongues sliding and massaging against the other. It was tender, languorous, probing.

After breaking the kiss they remained resting together on the bed, lying back against the pillows. Gabriella was snuggled up next to Troy with her head resting on his chest, enjoying the warmth of his arms encircled around her and listening to the rhythm of his heart. Troy loved holding her close to him, the way that she would snuggle into him as though trying to get closer. She was tracing a pattern on his stomach.

"I think tonight went well," Gabriella commented.

"Yeah. Our moms get along well. Could be good, could be bad."

"They could hate each other and ban us from seeing each other."

"I'd just have to serenade you up on your balcony," Troy declared.

"Like Romeo and Juliet?"

"Exactly."

"My mom would have loved seeing all of the cute photos of you. She loves photos of kids."

"Really? So when do I get to see your childhood photos?" Troy asked casually.

He watched her carefully to see her response. With the exception of the brief conversation on their first date and her reference to her father calling her Gabi during the movie night at her house; Gabriella had made very little reference to her childhood, and other than conversation about life with her mom there had been practically no reference to any other family. After the first date, per Gabriella's request Troy had respected her wishes and not broached the subject.

Gabriella froze. She knew he would bring it up again one day, and now that they were becoming closer and closer by the day, it seemed natural that Troy should know about her background.

"One day," Gabriella answered shortly, quietly.

Gabriella was silent for a long time. She had her eyes squeezed tightly shut, tears had been welling in her eyes and she was trying to will herself to keep them away. Troy could see that his girlfriend was distressed, and had a feeling that the answers he had been seeking weren't too far away. He held her tightly, gently stroking her arm comfortingly.

All the secrets they had shared – they had never returned to the topic that Gabriella had avoided. But it wasn't the kind of thing that just came up, and it wasn't the kind of thing you talked about in the middle of passing notes in science, while playing air hockey at the arcade, or while going ten pin bowling. As they had grown closer, it was becoming harder to hide her past. She would so naturally go to tell a story about how she went to see a band with her parents when she was eight; or how her dad once took her to see a Broadway show in New York City. And then she would censor herself. She wanted to share with him, she wanted Troy to know her – and not just the surface Gabriella, what she liked and what she didn't like – but she wanted him to understand her heart, her body, her soul.

Finally Gabriella spoke in a small voice, so tiny that if Troy hadn't been lying in such close proximity, he probably wouldn't have heard.

"I want to tell you about my daddy."

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	28. Serenity, Courage, Wisdom

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. I have no association with the bible. Or the film Fools Rush In which I have referenced.**

**ATTENTION NEW READERS – ANYONE WHO HAS RANDOMLY CLICKED ON THIS STORY WITHOUT HAVING READ PREVIOUS CHAPTERS**

So this is Chapter 28. A lot has happened so far. I have just put an outline of the events of this story at the bottom of my profile. If from the summary you think that this story is the kind of thing you might be interested in, don't be put off about being so far into the story and not having time to read from the beginning. Go and check out my profile and the outline and also the random note about this story. Go now. Right now. Right click on Pandora147 and open in a new window… pretty please. :-) And then come back and check out this chapter!

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**Chapter 28 – Serenity, Courage, Wisdom**

_God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference._

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All the secrets they had shared – they had never returned to the topic that Gabriella had avoided. But it wasn't the kind of thing that just came up, and it wasn't the kind of thing you talked about in the middle of passing notes in science, while playing air hockey at the arcade, or while going ten pin bowling. As they had grown closer, it was becoming harder to hide her past. She would so naturally go to tell a story about how she went to see a band with her parents when she was eight; or how her dad once took her to see a Broadway show in New York City. And then she would censor herself. She wanted to share with him, she wanted Troy to know her – and not just the surface Gabriella, what she liked and what she didn't like – but she wanted him to understand her heart, her body, her soul.

Finally Gabriella spoke in a small voice, so tiny that if Troy hadn't been so close to her, he probably wouldn't have heard.

"I want to tell you about my daddy."

Troy took a deep breath, and said in the calmest, most soothing voice he could muster – "Okay."

Gabriella slowly retracted herself from her position snuggled up next to Troy, and sat up on his bed cross legged. He shifted his weight so that he was sitting up, still leaning back against his pillows. Gabriella began to speak quietly.

"My mom has a Spanish Mexican background, both of her parents were from Mexico but mom was born in the United States and lived here all of her life. My dad – Diego Montez – his mom is Italian, and his dad was Spanish. So Montez – my dad's family name – is Spanish. And Gabriella is an Italian name, he wanted to acknowledge that side of his family. His parents both moved to the US from Europe when they were young, they met each other here."

"So even though I have European background, I guess I don't really associate with it a lot. Our lives were fairly normal, very American. I mean, lots of people assume that people with European background have these crazy family gatherings with singing and dancing and stuff. Like… like in Fools Rush In or something like that. But we were never like that. It was just the three of us most of the time."

Gabriella paused. She was staring down at Troy's bedspread as she spoke. She had picked up the blanket that had been folded at the foot of Troy's bed and held it in her lap, tracing the pattern of the lines. She was trying to tell the story impartially, in biographical form, in order to keep her emotions at bay. But it didn't matter what she did, her slightly shaking voice gave away her vulnerability.

"I don't ever remember my dad not being sick. I was never told that something was wrong. It's just… how it was. He couldn't breathe properly sometimes… he would cough up blood… he would wheeze and get chest pain… he was always tired… he kept losing weight… he couldn't swallow solids easily but it didn't matter because he was never hungry. Lots of kids would avoid me at school. It was like they thought he was infectious and maybe I'd get them sick as well. Or maybe it's just because they were scared… they didn't know what to say."

As Gabriella spoke, her voice was gradually becoming quieter, and more hesitant. Troy was confused, not understanding exactly what she was referring to and needing it to be spelt out for him. However he could sense the general resolution that the story was heading towards and didn't dare interrupt.

"I was the girl whose daddy had cancer," Gabriella said quietly.

Troy was in complete shock. He was beginning to comprehend the life that his girlfriend had been though, and just how emotionally strong she really was. He remained silent, not wanting to impede upon her ability to speak freely.

"He had chemotherapy and radiotherapy… and for a while we thought he was better. That was when we moved from Denver to Eldorado Springs, a much smaller town. Mom thought that it would be nice if we could start over, somewhere quiet so that daddy could recover and stuff. It was good for a while. But then it came back. It had come back and it had spread and… and it was worse than before. He was sick for a long, long, long time. Without any bouts of being better."

Gabriella fell silent for a moment, tears now welling in her eyes. She swallowed, trying to regain composure. Finally, she spoke again, four little words in a tiny whisper.

"And then… he died."

The welling tears began to trickle down Gabriella's cheeks. Watching her break, Troy felt something inside of him break. He felt tears welling in his own eyes. Troy was unable to speak, unable to do anything except to clasp his hand over hers in a desperate attempt to placate her and offer some semblance of comfort.

"I was 12. My best friend was this girl, Madeline. We were really close but… but when she found out that my dad had gone away, she freaked out and never really talked to me properly again. Looking back, I understand that she just didn't know how to react, how to deal with it. But still it hurt that she couldn't handle it, it hurt that she wasn't there for me when I needed a friend more than ever before. My mom was a mess, of course, so she wasn't really there for me either. And my best friend was avoiding me. I guess that was when I became a bit of a loner… I found it hard to trust anyone ever again."

Gabriella cleared her throat and sniffled. She dropped Troy's hand which had been clasping hers and stood from the bed, pacing slightly as she spoke. She was avoiding looking at his face directly.

"That's when we started to move around all the time. Between when I was 12 and now, I've lived in Cheyenne, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Chicago, Boston… and now, Albuquerque. You know how you asked me why my mom gets transferred all the time, and I said that her company likes to use her as a consultant in different branches? Well that's what she tells me but I know that the real reason is that she asks them to transfer her. I think she finds it hard to settle down anywhere because she feels like by settling into a new life, she's saying goodbye to him.

"We had a big talk just after New Years, when she told me that she was transferring to Albuquerque. I told her everything, how I wanted to stay in one place, I wanted to be able to make friends and try to have a normal life. And I told her that it was because daddy would have wanted that. He would have wanted both of us to be happy."

"I think that everything with my dad is why I'm really interested in science and stuff. As a kid, it made no sense to me that man can fly to the moon; that we can clone sheep; that we can talk to each other through a computer on the opposite side of the world in real time – but that people who are sick can't be made better."

Gabriella sunk to the bed again, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"Mommy used to tell me that God has mysterious ways and that I shouldn't question Him. Let's just say that since dad died, I began to have a love hate relationship with any spiritual side that I once had."

Gabriella finally stopped talking. She felt like she'd been talking forever. She'd spent five years not talking about her father. Five years avoiding dealing with related issues. Five years pretending that her life hadn't been affected by her past. Now that she opened up… it was like a floodgate had been opened. Like there was just so much to say that she thought she might keep talking forever if she didn't stop.

For the first time in over five minutes since she'd began talking, she dared to look directly at Troy, glassy eyes meeting glassy eyes. His expression was filled with such a diverse array of emotion at once that it was hard to pinpoint how he was feeling.

"I wasn't planning to tell you all of that…" Gabriella said softly. "I was just gonna tell you that my dad had cancer and died. The rest just… just sort of came out. I didn't want it to… I haven't told anyone my story before. Anyone, not ever. Even my mom doesn't know about what happened with Maddie. I… I told Tay that my dad died but I didn't say anything else. I uh… I've probably freaked you out."

Troy finally spoke, having been silent since she'd started speaking. Hearing her vulnerability and her desperate need to know that he was okay was enough shake him from his reverie.

"I'm glad you told me," he said quietly. "I uh… it's a lot. I'm not freaked. Just… it's a lot."

Gabriella squeezed his upper arm comfortingly.

"I might not look like it now but I'm actually really okay with this. I've had a lot of years to deal with it. I just don't talk about it often so when I do, the tears tend to come out. But really I'm okay."

He swallowed nodding. "I just… I don't know what to say. There isn't really anything I can say, is there?"

She smiled sadly. "No. There isn't. But… you could… just hold me?"

Troy nodded, holding out his arms and allowing Gabriella to snuggle next to him, once again with her head rested on his chest. He felt her shaking slightly. For the first time in five years, Gabriella allowed herself to cry. She allowed herself to cling onto Troy and be comforted. He didn't have the perfect words, or a magical medicinal cure and the ability to travel backwards through time. All he could offer was his comfort. He held her tightly, allowing her to seek comfort within his warm embrace. Hoping that somehow, if he held onto her tight enough, he could alleviate an ounce of her pain.

----------

Gabriella had fallen asleep in Troy's arms. She had gradually shifted in her sleep so that she was no longer resting on Troy, instead using his pillows for their intended use. He hadn't moved from his position. He hadn't taken his eyes away from her. He just gazed at her with adulation, adoration and admiration. One evening had transformed his girlfriend into being someone even more amazing than he had already considered her to be. He saw that she was filled with inner strength, however at the same time he was able to see her fragility.

A soft knocking came at his bedroom door. Troy looked up alarmed, and quickly jumped up to open the door.

"Gabriella fell asleep," he said quietly, informing his mother.

"Well you should get her home. It's nearly 11."

Troy winced. "But… she's so peaceful… Can't I just leave her? I'll sleep on the couch."

"Sorry but no. Elena is expecting Gabriella home by 11. So Gabriella will be home by 11."

"But mom…" Troy began to protest.

Lucille shook her head firmly. "End of discussion. Now, hurry up or Elena won't be impressed."

Troy sighed but complied, turning back to do the horrible task of waking his sleeping girlfriend.

Lucille couldn't help but watch in fascination as her son crouched down on the floor next to the sleeping Gabriella. He tenderly cupped her chin with his hand.

"Gabriella sweetheart," he said softly, trying to gently rouse her from her sleep.

She stirred, but didn't wake up.

"Gabi," Troy said again.

She murmured something out loud, all Troy caught was "central limit theorem". He couldn't help but grin at how adorable she was. Who actually dreams about mathematics? Troy leaned forward, gently pressing his lips to hers. Gabriella's eyes fluttered open.

"Did I fall asleep?" she asked groggily.

"Luckily Prince Charming was here to awake the Sleeping Beauty from her slumber."

Lucille smiled and quietly headed down the hallway before her presence would be noticed.

"I made your shirt wet," Gabriella said, sitting up and bringing her hand to rest on Troy's chest where her tears had left a wet patch.

He smiled and shrugged. "It's no biggie. I should get you home Gabi, it's almost 11."

She nodded agreeably and proceeded to sluggishly gather her belongings and pack her shoulder bag.

----------

The short drive to Gabriella's house took place in complete silence. Only when Troy pulled up at the curb and turned off the engine did Gabriella speak.

"Sorry for… falling asleep and… and… unloading everything on you."

"Ssshhh," Troy hushed her. "You're being silly."

"I just… I'm…"

"Do you think I'm going to start being weird and avoid you like this Madeline girl did?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Never in a million years," he declared.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Gabriella nodded, willing the tears that she could feel building again to stay away. As her lips closed over Troy's, she silently communicated to him just how grateful she was to him, how scared she was of losing him, how hard it had been to let down her guard, how glad she was that she was finally able to let down her guard. Just as Troy's kiss communicated how much he admired her, that he was there for her, that he was glad she had been able to confide in him.

It didn't need to be said in words. It was all implicitly communicated. If a picture can tell a thousand words, so too can a single kiss.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm sorry for using a rather overused plot line but for the purpose of my story I feel as though it really works well. It works well to explain why Gabriella has moved so often; it explores issues with her personality and shyness and solitary nature which are important with the Gabriella that I have been building. It is important for the development of her relationship with Troy – and also to a plot point that I have coming up in a couple of chapters time. Additionally, I find it strange that we never, ever, ever have any canonical reference to Mr Montez – hence why it has become an overused plot line! **


	29. Murphy's Law

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. **

**ATTENTION NEW READERS**

**If you haven't read the first 28 chapters of this story, I have recently added an outline of the events to date in my profile. Hopefully this will be a useful tool for anyone who is thinking "shit man I don't have time right now to go back and read 28 chapters!" So yeah... go check it out and then come back and read this chapter so everything might make a bit more sense! **

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**Chapter 29 – Murphy's Law**

In the theatre, it is generally considered a good thing to have a bad dress rehearsal. If the old wives tale is indeed a reflection of reality, then Twinkle Towne was set to be a spectacular show because the very first full run through was a complete and utter disaster. Friday afternoon was the first time that Miss Darbus took away the scripts, it was the first time that she brought in the full band, it was the first time that costumes (well, parts of costumes that were ready) were put in the dressing rooms.

The very first scene of dialogue was the first section that Gabriella and Troy had began rehearsing straight away after being cast in the roles.

"My sister and I are very much so looking forward to the ball tomorrow night," Gabriella said, in character as Minnie.

There was silence.

"Your line," Gabriella whispered to Troy.

"Oh! Um…"

Patrick, one of the backstage hands, was clutching onto a script in the wings. He was to prompt the actors when they needed prompting. Miss Darbus had made it clear that she expected Patrick to be doing very little that afternoon.

"My brother…" Patrick prompted.

"My brother… my brother and I…"

"Are looking forward…" Patrick supplied.

"Are looking forward to your company. It should be a… a nice…"

"Wonderful," Patrick corrected.

"Wonderful," Troy echoed. "A wonderful… ball."

"A wonderful evening," Patrick said.

"BOLTON!" Miss Darbus shouted from the audience. "You have had this script for over a month. Why is it that Miss Montez has managed to absorb something from the page whereas you have failed to do so?"

"I'm sorry! Normally I know a lot more than this… I'm just…. I'm tired I guess," Troy said, trying to defend himself.

"Patrick, get Bolton a script. We're going to be here all night if you're like this the whole way through. Today is the last time I want to see you with a script, Mr Bolton. Got it?"

Troy nodded meekly. "Yes ma'am."

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Gabriella was fine with her dialogue. She was fine with the songs. She was not fine with the dancing. From the very first dance of the show, with nearly the whole cast in the ballroom; it became clear that Gabriella was struggling with the choreography. If she wasn't a beat behind, she was a beat ahead. If she wasn't crashing into someone, she was staring intently at the person beside her, imitating their moves. Troy, surprisingly, had taken to the dancing rather well. Although Gabriella could justify that given that he required good footwork and coordination for basketball.

"Miss Montez! We choreographed this dance a whole month ago. You should NOT need to be looking at Mr Bolton to remember whether to step to the right or to the left!" Miss Darbus exclaimed in exasperation.

Gabriella hung her head, she was mortified at being reprimanded so publicly.

"Sorry," she said awkwardly. "I uh… I don't know what's wrong with me today. Sorry."

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It wasn't only Troy and Gabriella though. The band for some reason was not grasping several of the songs very well. Remembering dance choreography seemed to be a problem for quite a few of them – possibly exacerbated by Sharpay's continual interference with the choreographer. Gabriella was nearly knocked out by a piece of falling scenery as a result of the incompetence of the backstage hands – fortunately Troy yanked her out of the way just in time.

During the fifteen minute break, Troy and Gabriella huddled themselves into one of the dressing rooms.

"Oh my Lord this is excruciatingly painful," Gabriella groaned. "This is terrible. We are terrible. WHY are we doing this? Why did we ever audition?"

"We didn't. We were just singing and Miss Darbus heard. Damn Miss Darbus for hanging around after the audition," Troy whined.

A knock came at the door.

"What?!" Gabriella said irritably.

The door opened, and Ryan poked his head in. "Uh, can I come in?"

"I guess," Troy said.

"I just wanted to let you guys know that you shouldn't worry about today going so badly. This is why we have this rehearsal today. The whole point of it is to go through everything roughly so we know exactly where all the problems are. Everything is MEANT to go wrong today, you want everything that could go wrong to go wrong, so that you can prepare for it and deal with it."

They both looked at Ryan sceptically.

"Thanks for trying but I still feel like shit," Troy said. "There's a difference between things going wrong and me not knowing my lines."

"Yeah but now that you realise how behind you are, you can prepare accordingly."

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Troy and Gabriella stood on the doorstep to the Montez household, arms enclosed around the other, entangled in a soft, probing lip lock.

"You know it's going to be fine, right?" Troy murmured, gently caressing the side of her face. "I think Ryan was right."

"I'm just… I'm not used to…"

"To feeling like you can't do something?" Troy supplied gently.

Gabriella nodded. "Stupid, huh?"

"No, not at all."

"Let's not talk about it," Gabriella declared. "It was terrible, I can accept that, and let's move on."

"Except it's going to be plaguing you all weekend long, isn't it?"

"Maybe," she admitted.

"I wish I didn't have to go home yet."

"Aren't you excited about meeting the other guys?" Gabriella asked.

"I am. But I'd rather be here with you," Troy confessed. He glanced at his watch. "Some of the billets are probably already there."

"That's great, so I reveal my biggest secret to you last night and then we have a shit day at rehearsal and you're going to leave me here all vulnerable and depressed?" Gabriella joked.

Troy looked stricken.

"I'm kidding," Gabriella said quickly.

"_Are _you okay though? After… after last night?" Troy asked tentatively.

She nodded. "I thought I'd be weird but… I kind of… I feel relieved, you know?"

"Like a weight is off your shoulders?"

"Kinda."

"My mom always says that a problem shared is a problem halved," Troy said, rolling his eyes. "Kinda dumb but, kinda true. I want you to feel like you can keep sharing with me."

Gabriella smiled sadly, nodding appreciatively. Troy's text message tone sounded, he cursed at the inappropriate timing of it all. He fished his cell out of his pocket and sighed. "It's dad. He says they're waiting for me."

"Go on then," Gabriella prompted. "I know you're excited about meeting them. You don't need to pretend otherwise for my sake. Have your manly basketball weekend and enjoy every moment of it."

"I'll miss you," Troy said earnestly.

"You better."

Troy jogged halfway home. Gabriella was right – he was excited about the weekend. With the stress of musical preparation, he hadn't really had the chance to contemplate his selection a lot. But now that he was minutes away from meeting his team mates, Troy was feeling on top of the world. He was looking forward to the experience in itself, to being pushed and challenged, being surrounded by the best high school players in the state. And he was also looking forward to meeting some like minded guys who had big aspirations to take their basketball to another level.

As he headed up his front driveway, Troy sensed that something was different. As far as he knew, there were just four of the guys from the team staying with them. However there was music audible from within the house, the sounds of chatters which sounded like a small party was kicking off inside. Troy entered his house, heading in the direction of the backyard where the noise was coming from, passing his dad in the kitchen.

"Dad?" Troy asked questioningly.

"Troy! Finally, he arrives!" Jack said, pleased to see his son. He went over to the sliding door that opened out into the backyard. "Mark? Troy's here."

"What's going on?" Troy asked, still confused.

"The guys are all here, we're having a bit of a barbeque," Jack explained.

A tall, dark haired middle aged man came through the patio doors, heading straight for Troy. He had a broad smile, and held his hand out. "Great to finally meet you. I'm Coach Lang."

"Oh! Hey!" Troy said enthusiastically, taking the man's hand and shaking it firmly. "Thank you so much again for this opportunity."

"You're more than welcome. I know we don't start training until tomorrow but your father called me and offered to host a bit of a get together tonight, give you boys the chance to meet each other and get to know everyone. Everyone is out the back."

"Oh, okay then," Troy said, clearly surprised at this revelation that the whole team was there, and understanding what all the noise was about. "Great."

Trailing behind Coach Lang was a younger sandy haired man.

"To begin with, this is Coach Kirkpatrick, he is my assistant coach," Coach Lang said.

"Hey there, great to meet you," Troy said, shaking his hand.

"Likewise. I saw the video of your championship game – you showed some awesome moves."

"Thanks," Troy said graciously.

"So let's go out and I'll introduce you to everyone."

Troy followed Coach Lang out into his backyard area. Some of the guys were sitting around on fold out chairs; another group of them had formed around the basketball hoop shooting some free throws.

"Boys, this is Troy Bolton. He's the captain of the East High Wildcats here in Albuquerque," Coach Lang said, indicating to Troy.

He then went around and introduced Troy to his eleven new team mates. Each and every one of them was a team captain. From the southern part of New Mexico there was Matthew O'Grady from Las Cruces High School in Las Cruces, as well as Elijah Knowles from Magdalena High School in Magdalena. From the east, there was Lee Holmes from Goddard High School in Roswell; as well as Vincent Daughtry from Fort Summer High School in Fort Summer. All of these four boys were staying in the Bolton household; with the spare room comprising of two single beds as well as a fold out couch and an air mattress in Jack's study downstairs.

New Mexico's most heavily populated area was the north western quadrant, henceforth the majority of the team came from that area. Bradin Spencer from Independence High School in Rio Rancho; Jamal Kelley from Navajo Preparatory School in Farmington; Ian Jackson from Santa Fe Preparatory School in Santa Fe, Blake Williams from Captain High School in Santa Fe; Samuel Thacker from Sandia View Academy in Corrales.

Last but not least was William Johnson – captain of the West High Knights.

Troy and the West High captain eyed one another warily. Coach Lang rolled his eyes.

"Now now, you're not rivals here. You're team mates."

"Bolton," Will said stiffly.

"Johnson," Troy returned politely.

Coach Lang then strategically disappeared inside with his assistant coach and Jack and Lucille Bolton. Hence leaving the boys outside alone, to get to know one another without the pressures of adult company.

"So where have you been?" Vincent asked.

"I had a school thing," Troy replied vaguely, not wanting to elaborate.

"He was probably at his musical rehearsal," Will said smugly.

"I was actually," Troy said casually.

"You're in a musical?" Jamal asked incredulously.

Troy shrugged. "Yeah. What's it to you?"

"So you were late to our first team meeting tonight because you were off singing and dancing?" Jackson asked condescendingly.

"I didn't even know that y'all were going to be here tonight," Troy said defensively. "If I'd known then I would have come home sooner."

"A musical. That's a bit… girly… isn't it?" Sam commented, accentuating the sentence with a snicker.

Troy had been questioned for auditioning for the musical by his own friends and team mates, but since then he'd been met with such support that it was rather unnerving suddenly being back in the place where people questioned his actions.

"My girlfriend is in the show," Troy said casually, trying to make it sound like Twinkle Towne was of little importance to me.

"And your girlfriend likes singing dancing sissy fags?" Jackson enquired with a grin.

"Excuse me?" Troy asked incredulously.

"Seriously dude, a MUSICAL? A play, perhaps could be acceptable. But a musical? My mind just goes straight to sissy fags."

"You know what they say about homophobics being the real closet cases," Troy shot back.

An "oooohhhh" came from the boys.

----------

By 9pm, Troy was sitting in the corner on his own, staying completely out of the conversation. He'd tried to participate, only to have every comment snickered at or turned around by Ian Jackson or one of the guys who had so quickly become his groupies. Luckily, Coach Lang came out to break up the gathering, given they had to be at the East High football oval at 6 in the morning. Ian Jackson, Jamal Kelley and Samuel Thacker left with Will, as they were being billeted at his house. The rest of the boys left with the coaches, as they were staying with Coach Kirkpatrick – who conveniently had a second property in Albuquerque, although he lived in Rio Rancho.

Troy headed straight to his room, leaving it to his father to play the role of host to the boys who were staying at the Bolton household. Half of him wanted to call Gabriella and whinge about the night. The other half wanted to forget the whole thing happened, and remain optimistic that tomorrow would be a brand new day. He went for the latter approach, immersing himself into a school project. He soon realised that he needed something that he had saved on the downstairs computer in his dad's study.

He headed downstairs and approached the study. He could see through the crack under the door that the light was still on, and he could hear quiet talking. He tentatively knocked on the door, a voice calling him in.

"Uh, you mind if I quickly print something? Just working on an assignment for a bit," Troy said awkwardly.

"Go for it, it's your house," Vince said.

The boys were silent as Troy turned on the computer, sinking into the desk chair. He looked around the room, suddenly finding the mouse pad and other items of fascination.

"Uh… Jackson's a bit of a fuckwit," Lee finally said.

Troy looked up sharply.

"I don't think he has a filter between his brain and his mouth," Vince agreed. "He was out of line."

"Didn't see you guys jumping in to defend me," Troy said sourly.

"Didn't want to rock the boat I guess," Lee said.

Troy didn't respond, he just turned back to the computer which had finished booting, quickly locating the file he needed and e-mailing it to himself, as well as printing it so he had a hard copy.

"East High isn't far away. If you're ready by quarter to six, we'll be there on time," Troy said shortly.

"Thanks. Night man," Vince said tentatively.

Troy nodded and turned the computer off and closed the door behind him.

----------

Saturday's training schedule was gruelling. The boys were expected to be at the football oval at 6 in the morning. They had two hours of fitness training, with sprints and callisthenics. Coach Lang decided to just throw them into a game to get a feeling of how the boys would work together. Which for Troy, proved to be disastrous.

At first, the majority of the guys were treating him like the 'pansy' they saw him as being. They would more or less ignore any direction he tried to provide them, avoid passing him the ball. The role of the point guard was meant to be to direct the rest of the team. The majority of the guys were more or less ignoring his every move. When they did pass the ball to him, they would throw it gently, as though throwing it to a child. Troy was running all over the court, trying to intercept passes just to try and get his hands on the ball to show them that he was capable of playing. The next strategy which Ian Jackson led was one where they were testing Troy. Giving him all of the ball time, three defenders surrounding him at once.

Technically, they weren't violating rules. Coach Lang's general policy of coaching boys was to allow them to be themselves. Hence that he'd left them to their own devices the previous evening. And why he had just thrown them into the game, changing around the players and positions to get a feel of how the boys operated as a team. He pulled both Ian Jackson as well as Jamal Kelley off the court at the same time. Without Jackson leading the charge of "gang up on Bolton", Troy finally began to be able to play like he normally would, gradually earning the respect of a few more of the guys. However Jackson and his little gang of Jamal Kelley and Samuel Thacker persevered with their treatment of Troy.

By the end of the day, Troy was absolutely exhausted. All the boys were, but Troy more so than any of the rest of them. He'd had to work twice as hard to achieve half the amount, thanks to the way he had been treated.

"Okay guys, you've got an hour free. I'm told there's some shops just up the road so if you want to head down there you're welcome to. We've got access to the East High gymnasium facilities as well. Just be back here in an hour and we're going to have some discussion time," Coach Lang announced.

Troy led the other guys into the locker room area.

"Where are these shops, Bolton? God knows I don't want to hang around a school for a whole hour!" Lee asked.

"I'll show you's," Troy said agreeably.

"We should head out tonight, catch a movie or something," Jamal suggested.

Troy winced at the suggestion. He personally was looking forward to going home and collapsing into bed.

"Sounds good," Elijah agreed.

"Coach Kirkpatrick lives on the west side, so since most of us are on that side, we should probably head to the cinema over there," Johnson said.

"How far is that from yours?" Vince asked Troy.

"Uh… my dad will probably lend me his wheels, so I can drive us there," Troy said.

"You don't have your own wheels?" Samuel smirked.

"Uh no, not yet."

"That's right, you're a **junior**," Jackson said, emphasising the word junior like it was a negative thing. "Probably haven't had your license for that long."

----------

Troy shuffled through the cinema, a few paces behind the others. The previous session had run late, therefore the cinema was still being cleaned in the change over time. The boys were milling around in the foyer, waiting for the cinema to be opened.

"Troy!" a voice called from behind.

Troy turned around and grinned, seeing Gabriella and Taylor approaching him. After 24 hours of having his manliness questioned, he felt so, so glad to be seeing Gabriella. He engulfed Gabriella in a hug and kissed her fiercely.

"What was that for?" Gabriella asked with a giggle.

"It was hello."

"You didn't say hello to me like that," Taylor remarked.

"And he's not going to," Gabriella shot back.

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friends?" Jackson asked.

His tone was sickeningly sweet, almost condescending. The look that Troy shot him was not lost on Gabriella and Taylor.

"Right… Gabi, Taylor this is the team… team… this is Taylor, and this is my girlfriend Gabriella."

The boys waved and said hellos to the girls, a few of them leering appreciatively.

"Look, they're letting our movie in. You coming Bolton?" Bradin asked.

"I'll catch up in a minute."

Troy turned back to the girls.

"How was training today?" Gabriella asked.

Troy shrugged. "Okay. I'm absolutely rooted now, I wanted to just crash but they wanted to catch a movie. Thought I had to do the right thing as one of the hosts and go with them. Besides, I drove the guys that are staying at mine."

He was glad to see her – but just didn't want to talk about how the weekend was going. Instead Troy felt kind of embarrassed. He didn't want her to know how terrible it had been. All week long, everyone had been going on about how great it was going to be. The truth was that Troy hated it so far, and he felt guilty for hating it.

"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked, sensing that Troy was off.

"Fine," Troy said. "Just tired."

"You sure?"

He smiled. "Yeah. Listen I should get in there."

"Yeah our movie is about to start also."

Troy kissed her softly. "See you Monday."

Taylor and Gabriella watched as Troy trudged away in the direction of the cinema.

"Wouldn't you think that Troy would be in basketball heaven around that lot?" Taylor asked.

"Something is up with him," Gabriella said softly.

"Maybe he was just genuinely tired."

She shook her head. "No. Something more."

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I really, really could use some feedback right now. It's kinda... you know when in a TV show, as the back end of the season is drawing to a close, suddenly a whole bunch of plot starts happening? That's where I'm heading. And I have a whole bunch of concerns about the way I'm doing it, probably because I'm so pedantic. Anyway, hence the need for feedback. Pretty please. Love you all:-) **


	30. Make Lemonade

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. **

**ATTENTION NEW READERS: There is an outline of the chapters so far of this story at the bottom of my profile. Don't let the fact that you've caught on late deter you from reading this story! Go check out the outline if you just don't have time to read the whole thing at the moment.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you so, so, so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I was really overwhelmed and inspired… Seriously, literally inspired. You inspired me to write a different sequel, not an instead of but an as well as...I just spent about four hours (I'm writing this AN on the day I put up Ch 29) working on this other sequel, tentatively entitled 'Play It My Way'. I can't really explain the plot because I give away plot from the remainder of Here With You but you inspired me nonetheless. Well really, you've all made my life more difficult because now I have ANOTHER story to work on before I go backpacking. I have this feeling I'm going to be in Europe and be sitting at internet cafes half my time writing freaking fan fiction. I can see it now... some hot Italian man approaches me and I tell him to shoo because I am finishing a fic and on hahaha. **

**TOTALLY IRRELEVANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: If I read another future fic where a two year old is speaking completely fluently I will stick pins in my eyes. I know Gabriella is smart but this does not necessarily translate into an early speech ability for her offspring.**

----------

**Chapter 30 – Make Lemonade**

Chad, Jason, Zeke, Taylor and Gabriella were standing around on the front steps of East High on Monday morning, awaiting Troy's arrival.

"Did you talk to Troy at all over the weekend?" Gabriella asked Chad.

"Briefly yesterday afternoon is all. Something was up with him. Being himself, he didn't wanna talk about it. I asked him how the weekend went and he just said it was exhausting and that he was tired." Chad looked at Gabriella carefully. "Did you talk to him?"

"Taylor and I ran into them at the movies on Saturday night. I sensed something was off then. He claimed he was just tired then also but…"

"You're worried," Chad said.

Gabriella nodded. "I thought he might call me to talk about it last night, after they'd all left. But he didn't call at all, which is weird in itself because he **always** calls."

"Oh! Gabriella! I talked to Kim yesterday," Taylor informed Gabriella, suddenly remembering she hadn't relayed the conversation.

"Oh?"

"It's not just the flu. She has mononucleosis. Apparently a pretty bad case as well."

"Oh my God! Is she coming back to school?"

"Maybe in a couple of weeks, but she has said to completely rule her out of the rest of the decathlon season."

"Have you talked to Martha?"

"Not yet. It's on the list of things to do today."

"Poor Kim. What a terrible time of year to get sick," Gabriella said sympathetically. "We should go visit her."

"There's Troy's bus," Jason said interrupting the girls, pointing to the bus that was pulling the lot.

Students began to pile off the old yellow rickety school bus. Troy had spotted his mates out the window. He had hoped and prayed that for some strange reason they'd picked today to not hang around and wait for him, but of course that wouldn't be the case.

"Yo Bolton," Zeke called out as he saw his mate stepping off the bus.

Troy took a deep breath and turned around. They were going to see it sooner or later, may as well be sooner. He headed towards them, and they saw that his left eye was a purplish black bruise. Gabriella and Taylor both gasped. The boys snickered.

"So, how was your weekend?" Jason asked innocently.

Troy glared at Jason witheringly, and replied sarcastically. "Brilliant."

"Are you okay?" Gabriella fussed, stepping towards him and bringing her hand up to his face to examine the bruise.

Troy stepped back, waving her hand away. "I'm fine Gabi, really."

"Dude. What happened?" Zeke asked.

"Look I don't want to talk about it," Troy said bluntly.

"Did you kick his ass?" Chad asked with a grin.

"Violence is never a solution to sorting out problems Troy, I would have thought you were bright enough to know that," Taylor reprimanded.

"I said, I don't want to talk about it!" Troy snapped. "I'm going to my locker."

And with that, he stormed away from the group. Gabriella went to go after him, but Chad pulled her back.

"Leave him alone," Chad advised.

"But he…"

"Gab. I've known Troy for over ten years. Let him brood."

----------

Gabriella begrudgingly followed Chad's advice, and didn't press the issue. The truth was that she expected Troy to open up to her. She expected that at some point when they had a moment's peace during drama or during their rehearsal, that he would tell her what happened. But that wasn't the case. He wasn't being directly rude – but he wasn't himself. And he wasn't revealing anything about what had happened over his weekend.

The very first announcement made at the beginning of Monday afternoon's rehearsal was that further additions were made to their rehearsal schedule, as a result of Friday's disaster. Miss Darbus designated Tuesday and Wednesday rehearsals to go until 7:30; and added a Saturday afternoon rehearsal.

Troy and Gabriella exchanged alarmed glances at the information of a Saturday afternoon rehearsal. Troy raised his hand.

"Uh Miss Darbus? That's… that poses a bit of difficulty for me," he said tactfully.

"Me too," Gabriella piped up.

"Do you or do you not agree that you need all of the rehearsal time you can get?" Miss Darbus demanded.

They nodded. "Yes."

"Do you WANT to embarrass yourselves in front of your peers, your parents, the whole community?"

They shook their heads. "No."

"Then I suggest you reassess your priorities."

"But I'll be in Santa Fe!" Troy said. "I'm physically not in Albuquerque. I can't miss this training session!"

"And I'm in Rio Rancho," Gabriella added. "I have the state final of the decathlon."

Miss Darbus's expression was one of complete and utter annoyance and yet defeat.

"What about Sunday afternoon?" she finally asked, her annoyance evident.

"Do you have training Sunday as well?" Gabriella asked Troy.

He bit his lip. "I guess I could come straight from morning practice and just miss a few hours in the afternoon… I'll have to ring coach."

Gabriella didn't see the huge deal about this – she understood that it was an inconvenience and that he would feel bad about the situation. But Troy sounded absolutely petrified at the notion of missing a few hours of training.

"Go into my office and call your coach now," Miss Darbus said. "We need to sort this now."

Troy nodded. "Yes ma'am."

----------

Troy had walked through his front door no more than a minute earlier when Jack Bolton appeared from his study.

"Coach Lang just called me to enquire about you bringing a video I have with you on the weekend. What's this I hear about you missing part of your practice on Sunday?" Jack demanded.

"Umm that's pretty much it. I'm going to miss part of the practice on Sunday," Troy said flatly. "We have a dress rehearsal. It was meant to be on Saturday but they're rearranging it to accommodate me."

Jack sighed. "I'm disappointed Troy. I really thought that you were the kind of guy who commits to something 110. And here you are, second training weekend, already bailing on your team?"

"Yeah that's right dad, I do commit to something 110. I'm committed to the musical. I know you don't like that I am, but that's the way it is."

"I just don't get it Troy. I'm okay with this musical thing, I really am. I know it makes you happy. But basketball… you have a potential FUTURE with basketball, a future which this team is providing a platform for you to jump right into. You should be focusing on that future, these opportunities don't come along for everyone."

"Don't tell me what I should be doing! It's my life!" Troy shouted. "Maybe I should just quit the team!"

"Don't be stupid Troy. I will tell you what you should be doing when you're making wrong decisions!"

"Fuck you," Troy snarled and turned around, running up the stairs.

"Don't you dare speak to me like that!" Jack shouted up the staircase.

The response was a door slamming so hard that the walls shook.

Troy was angry. He was beyond angry. Which was a rare motion experienced by Troy. Typically he was easy going, he didn't let the little issues of life get to him like other people would. However all of the stress and pressure and annoyance with the people around him had built up to this point of rage. He felt the need to punch someone or something, or alternatively go for a long, hard run. However he felt no need to go back downstairs and see his father, so he compromised with himself and dropped to the floor, doing a long series of push ups and then stomach crunches.

Finally, Troy felt slightly calmer. Slightly. The fact was that he could call Gabriella or Chad to vent, and then probably feel better after the fact. But he didn't feel like talking about anything. He didn't want to acknowledge that he was at the point of complete meltdown. Instead his plan was to just forget about it all. He had hours of school work to do. That was the plan, forget about basketball, the musical, his dad.

The carefully planned out calendar that Gabriella had helped him organise over a month earlier may as well be thrown into the garbage. Troy scanned over his assignment due dates. History essay, due the next week. A starting point.

----------

Troy woke up the following morning to feel a pain in the side of his neck. He'd fallen asleep at his desk on top of his math textbook, and consequently hadn't set his alarm the night before.

"Fuck!" he groaned upon seeing his clock. 7:40.

If a similar incident had occurred any other morning, his father would have woken him up before leaving the house. A clear indication of just how upset Jack was with his son.

It was the fastest he had ever gotten out of bed and ready for the day. He threw on the first set of clothes which fell out of his wardrobe, chucked his books into his backpack and ran into the garage to grab his bicycle – realising immediately that he had forgotten to fix the tyre he had punctured the last time he used it. Troy swore and groaned as he kicked the useless bicycle, instead grabbing his skateboard as a means of somewhat more efficient transport.

He arrived at home room less than two minutes before the end of the session, bursting into the room, all eyes on him.

"If you didn't already have rehearsal with me after school I would keep you for detention," Miss Darbus remarked. "And Mr Bolton, this is not a hang ten arena. Leave your toys outside of my classroom in the future."

"Uh, Miss Darbus, your honour?" Chad enquired, raising his hand slightly. "Hang ten is a surfing tem."

Miss Darbus raised her eyebrows, shooting Chad a look. Troy slipped into his seat, leaving Miss Darbus to continue to run through the announcements.

"What's with your hair?" Chad hissed at him from behind.

Troy flashed his middle finger at Chad – and subsequently ran his fingers through his hair, now feeling rather self conscious.

----------

Gabriella spent over 24 hours listening to Chad's advice. She didn't ask Troy about his weekend once, not once. She made mindless small talk about the movie she and Taylor had seen, the decathlon meeting they'd held over the weekend, the musical, her literature assignment. She listened to Chad's advice only because she was convinced that Troy would tell her on his own accord. That he just didn't want the whole world to know whatever had happened. But when he had not uttered a single syllable about anything that had happened for over a day, Gabriella's patience was wearing thin. He'd barely spoken to her after homeroom, barely acknowledged her presence when they arrived at science. Fair enough he'd had a bad morning. But she expected to be acknowledged. If being his girlfriend wasn't enough of a reason, if anything out of common human courtesy she deserved acknowledgement.

Mrs Perry drifted around the room during chemistry class, collecting the report of the experiment they'd conducted last week which was due, in the meantime leaving the students to complete a set of questions from the textbook. Gabriella felt herself becoming more annoyed with the sullen boy sitting beside her. She held out her neatly presented, computer generated report for Mrs Perry.

"Very nice, Miss Montez," Mrs Perry said approvingly. "And Mr Bolton?"

Troy held up a single piece of A4 lined paper with his boyish scrawl across the page. The teacher examined his work with raised eyebrows.

"Troy… you call this a report?" she demanded.

Troy looked up at her meekly. "Uh… yes?"

"You do know this piece of work counts towards your final grade? The grade which will eventually be looked at by college selectors?"

"Yeah. I uh… I've been busy and… and…" Troy trailed off.

The truth was that Mrs Perry knew that Troy was genuine when hesaid that he had been busy. On more than one occasion, over what she wanted to be a quiet coffee in the staff room, she had been subjected to Miss Darbus delivering a flamboyant speech about the endless musical rehearsals. Additionally, Jack Bolton couldn't resist the opportunity to go on about how brilliant his son was for being picked for the state team in his junior year. She sympathised.

Mrs Perry narrowed her eyes. "Seeing as this is a first occurrence for you – and I'm hoping the last – I'm going to allow you to resubmit it. Thursday morning, on my desk before school. Got it?"

Troy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks. Thank you. I really appreciate it."

"You should have told me if you were having trouble with it," Gabriella said to him as Mrs Perry moved to the next set of students.

Troy glanced at her irritably. "I wasn't having trouble with it. I'm not a complete moron, just because I'm not as smart as you. I just did it in like fifteen minutes at 4 in the morning is all."

"I never said you're an moron," Gabriella said, sounding hurt.

"It was implied."

"Something you two would like to share with the class?"

"No Mrs Perry," Troy and Gabriella spoke in unison.

----------

For the second time that day, Troy woke up in an uncomfortable position. This time, he was on top of his textbook in the lab – a remarkable feat to fall asleep in such a scenario given they were at lab benches and sitting on stools. Mrs Perry had put on a video and the exhausted Troy had promptly nodded off, only waking up when the bell rang signalling the end of class.

"I'm sorry my class was not entertaining enough for you Mr Bolton," Mrs Perry said. "The report on my desk Thursday before homeroom. Or you will receive an F for this work."

"You could have poked me or something," Troy said irritably, glancing at Gabriella who was packing up her books.

Gabriella shrugged. "I could have," she said coldly.

Troy narrowed his eyes, watching Gabriella as she stalked out of the room, not even looking back at him.

Lunch time that day was more so a reflection of lunch periods from prior to winter break. The scholastic decathlon team were sitting together at the cafeteria, conducting a meeting. Troy went over to the boys who had a group of cheerleaders hanging off of them.

"Yo, where were you during free period man? I thought we were going to work out," Chad said.

"I was at the library."

"Coach is going to be shitty that you missed an opportunity to work out," Zeke said.

"I couldn't give a flying fuck what coach thinks," Troy said darkly.

"What's up your ass?" Jason asked.

"Nothing. Why don't you just get the fuck off my case!" Troy snapped. He stood up, grabbing his bag. "I have to go."

"So when this guy beat you up, did he also give you a personality transplant?" Chad called after Troy.

Over at the next table, they heard the commotion. Taylor glanced at Gabriella who was suddenly very fixated on the book she had in front of her.

"Is he okay?" Taylor asked.

Gabriella shrugged. "How on earth would I know? I'm only his girlfriend, apparently. Why would he talk to me if something is bothering him?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Have you tried to talk to him?" Taylor asked.

"Chad said to just leave him. I left him. And he's being an ass. Simple."

"At least try to talk to him before you write him off altogether."

----------

As she and Troy sat in silence in their practice classroom during drama class, Gabriella swallowed her prise.

"Troy… do you… do you want to talk about it?" Gabriella asked tentatively.

"About what? I'm fine," Troy said shortly. "Let's move forward and work on the second Act."

Gabriella felt like she'd been slapped in the face. It was one thing to not want to talk about it. He could, at the very least, acknowledge the fact that something was wrong but he didn't want to talk about it. But to pretend he was fine was just plain ridiculous when Troy very clearly was not fine. She narrowed her eyes.

"Fine then."

----------

Gabriella was upset with Troy. No, scratch that – she was angry with him.

Ever since committing to the call backs, since the prank their friends had pulled – she'd never thought she could be angry at him. He had been like the perfect specimen; sweet and charming and funny and so amazingly supportive and just constantly there for her in every way, shape and form. If she didn't like the guy so damn much she might find his perfection almost sickening. They'd come so far in such a short space of time and here she was – angry with him.

That was the problem. They'd come so far.

Gabriella was angry with Troy because she felt like they'd come to a place that was beyond this kind of treatment. Where he should feel able to talk to her about his problems – or at least acknowledge they existed. She felt insulted by his treatment; she felt like he didn't respect the relationship they were building; that he must not feel as strongly for her as he would otherwise indicate. Because if he did feel that strongly for her, then how could he be so cold, so harsh, so distant?

Gabriella sat alone in her bedroom that night and did something that she very, very rarely did.

She cried.

The previous week when she had told Troy about her father and his battle with cancer had been the first time she had cried in a long, long time.

Yet here she was, crying over a boy.

----------

One of Troy's ex girlfriends had once told him that her philosophy on life was 'when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.' Troy had found this quote to be cute, and optimistic, and positive – and also sickeningly unrealistic.

When life handed Troy Bolton lemons, he didn't make lemonade.

He didn't even throw the lemons around, or yell at the lemons. He pretended that they didn't exist; allowed them to build up. Invisible lemons.

The lemons had been building since winter break. Hell, before winter break, since basketball season had started junior year. He'd been so focused on basketball, letting the pressure get to him, not taking school work as seriously as he should have. The light that Gabriella had brought into his life had further masked the build up of the lemons.

Now, a whole shopping trolley of lemons were following Troy around, to the point that he couldn't deny their existence.

Hence the sudden appearance of sullen, moody, stressed out Troy. Hence the screaming and swearing at his father who, in his own misguided way, just wanted the best for him. Hence snapping at his friends. Hence treating Gabriella like crap.

There were all sorts of reasons for not wanting to talk about his stresses with the people around him. He couldn't talk to his dad about the pressures of the musical – because there were residual issues with Jack, concerning Jack's own issues with his all star basketball playing son could multi task and be in a musical. He couldn't talk to Chad about his problems with the basketball team - because although Chad would never admit it, Troy knew that there would be slight resentment that he too hadn't been selected. Resentment remaining from when Troy was selected for starting varsity in their sophomore year. As for Gabriella, she had enough going in her life, experiencing similar pressures from the musical and the scholastic decathlon. Troy didn't want to burden her.

Okay. So none of them were reasons.

They were excuses.

The fact was that Troy didn't want to deal with his problems. He didn't want to admit to them. He didn't want to admit that he was ashamed and embarrassed that he had allowed himself to be bullied; that he had let himself get behind with school work; that he wasn't coping with the musical.

Head in the sand. That had been the strategy. Except Troy was beginning to see the flaws that existed within that strategy.

----------

Troy was lying on his bed, pondering his lemonade making ability when there was a knock at his door.

"What?" Troy called warily, expecting his father to be present.

The door opened. It was his mom.

"Oh," Troy said, surprised to see her. "Are you narky coz I didn't do the dishes? Because I really am intending to head down in a bit to do them, I just wanted to finish up with…"

Lucille held her hand up, silencing him. "It's not about the dishes."

She closed the door behind her, and came and sat down on the bed.

"Did you talk to your dad tonight?"

Troy shrugged. "Not really."

"Don't tell him I told you but… I think he was wrong to get angry at you. Which doesn't excuse the way you spoke to him. But… I do think he was wrong."

"I know he was wrong," Troy said bluntly. "Why else would I have spoken to him the way I did?"

"Were you serious about quitting the team?"

Troy shrugged. "Yes. No. Maybe. If playing with the team makes me hate basketball then it's not something that I wanna do."

"But is it the basketball that you aren't enjoying, or is the issue with the people?" Lucille queried.

"It's all the same, isn't it?"

"Well no. If it's a people issue, then you can work to resolve it."

Troy didn't answer.

"Anything else bothering you?" Lucille ventured.

"What isn't bothering me would be the easier question."

Lucille just sat patiently, waiting for elaboration.

"I think Gabriella is mad at me," Troy said.

"Why would she be mad at you?"

"I guess… I've been a bit short with her. With Chad. With everyone. I was just in a really bad mood after the weekend and… stuff…"

"That's fair enough, you're allowed to be in a bad mood," Lucille said.

"But I shouldn't have taken it out on my friends," Troy admitted.

"It's a good thing that you acknowledge that. I'm sure if you told them that you are aware that you have been wrong to treat them that way, then they would be okay about the situation."

"You make it sound like it's easy."

"Better than making everything seem hard," Lucille pointed out. "Troy, sometimes, when life hands you lemons, all you can do is…"

"Make lemonade," Troy finished.

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Go on I dare you to review... maybe you'll inspire me to write yet ANOTHER sequel if enough of you give me your thoughts. :-P**


	31. Making Amends

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: YAY for all the new people who seem to have suddenly caught on to this story, I just feel so touched and humbled every time someone comes along and says they are enjoying this. And an equally enthusiastic YAY for all of the people who have been consistently supporting this for so long. You know who you all are. And you totally rock my world, each and every one of you! **

**So. Just so we're all aware. This story will wrap up shortly, after the muchly awaited Twinkle Towne in about… I think Chapter 35 or 36. I will then be publishing a 10 chapter or so story (tentatively entitled 'Play It My Way') which will be Troy centric and wrap up the basketball plot line and explore some other bits and pieces. However the epilogue to Here With You is actually set AFTER Play It My Way…. This all makes sense in my brain and I'll explain more in my final authors note to this story. But yes. Just letting you know so that you aren't thinking "okay she's been saying this finishes after the musical but all this stuff is going on, won't we find out what happens??"**

**This chapter is giant. Go make a cup of coffee. And be grateful I didn't break it into two and leave you with a cliffhanger for dramatic purposes.**

----------

**Chapter 31 – Making Amends**

Before going to sleep Tuesday night, Troy set not only his bedside alarm clock; but also the alarm on his cell phone and his Ipod. Being awake early the next morning was a crucial first step towards attempting to make lemonade.

Troy was sitting at the kitchen table, large bowl of cheerios and a glass of milk in front of him, when his father came downstairs.

"Good morning," Troy said quietly.

"Morning," Jack replied stiffly.

"Could I grab a lift to school today?" Troy asked.

"Okay," Jack said agreeably.

It was a start.

----------

Troy was the first to arrive out of everyone in his crew. He was leaning against a tree just by the drop off zone when he spotted Taylor getting out of her mother's car. Troy waved, and Taylor tentatively approached.

"Morning," she said, willingly but also a little hesitantly.

"Hey," Troy responded. "Is your team meeting this morning?"

"Yeah, briefly. State final this weekend and all. I'm meeting Gabriella here."

"Good." Troy paused. "Is uh… is she really mad at me?"

"Yes," Taylor said bluntly. "Although she wouldn't say it directly of course. She spent all of our meeting after your rehearsal last night moping. You guys had better make up by Saturday, Gabriella's brain works way better when she's in a good mood."

"Sounds like her brain works how my basketball ability works," Troy remarked. "Although I must admit, my reasons for wanting to sort things out are more self serving than about the benefit of your team."

Taylor and Troy spotted Gabriella stepping out of her mom's car at the same time.

"And here is your chance," Taylor pointed out.

Gabriella looked towards the front steps where she was going to meet Taylor, so they could head to the practice classroom together. She narrowed her eyes, spotting Troy, and walked straight past the pair and headed into the building.

Taylor glanced at Troy sympathetically. "I'd better go after her. Uh… I'll see you in homeroom."

Taylor dashed after Gabriella, catching up. "Well that was rude."

"It wasn't you, you know that," Gabriella said softly.

"I think he's sorry Gabriella, he…."

"I don't care right now," Gabriella interrupted her, speaking firmly. "Come on, the others will be waiting."

---

Meanwhile, Troy remained out the front of the school waiting for his mates.

"Sorry about this week. I've been treating y'all like shit and I know it."

"Are you gonna tell us what happened on the weekend to put you in this bad mood?" Jason asked.

Troy cleared his throat. "Uh… really really long story short. A few of the guys on the team were giving me shit for being in a musical. And then one of them said some shit about Gabi. So I threw a punch and he threw a punch and yeah."

"Defending your honour and your lady like a real man. Good job," Zeke said proudly.

The guys weren't the kind to hold grudges over something as trivial as being snapped at due to a bad mood. Chad was a bit dubious about Troy's scant explanation of the weekend. The extent of his defensiveness on Monday when questioned about his black eye was proof that the weekend had affected Troy on a deeper level. However he wasn't going to hold a grudge over the issue, and figured the best way to be of use was to let things go back to normal, and try to get his buddy to open up about the incident at a better time.

After hanging around a bit talking, the boys headed towards homeroom. Martha, Taylor and Gabriella arrived just a minute before the bell rang. Both Taylor and Martha waved to the guys, however Gabriella walked straight past Troy without even looking at him, let alone greeting him.

----------

Troy and Kelsi were sitting in the music room ten minutes into lunch period, going over some changes which had been made to one of the songs in the musical.

"That's awesome. I can't believe you've never studied music, you picked up on those key changes so easily," Kelsi said, clearly impressed.

Troy shrugged. "I love music. Does that count for anything?"

"You should think about playing on instrument. I think you'd be able to pick it up pretty easily."

"Talk to me about it after the musical and after basketball season and after exams this semester! The guitar would be pretty cool to learn."

Kelsi glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Uh…. It's not like Gabriella to be late, is it?" Kelsi asked hesitantly.

Troy shook her head. "I think she's pissed at me."

"But to totally blow this off…"

"She's REALLY pissed at me," Troy reiterated. "Do you think we could steal you during drama so you can go over the changes with Gabriella?"

"Miss Darbus might not be happy that we didn't get it done this lunch hour."

"I'll cover. Say that I forgot to tell Gabriella we were meeting. It's my fault she's not here anyway."

Kelsi smiled sympathetically. "Just because you've been in a bad mood, doesn't mean that she should blow off her responsibilities. It's not your fault."

"My bad mood was that transparent?"

"Uh, to people with eyes and ears, yes, yes it was."

Troy winced. "Anyway… thanks for going through this with me. I'll go find Gabriella now and… try to fix things."

"Good luck."

"I'll need it."

Troy instinctively knew exactly where to find Gabriella. He headed through the corridors, straight for the science club roof top garden.

Gabriella heard the sound of the door opening just down the stairs, knowing instantly that it was Troy. She remained sitting on the bench, staring at the floor.

"Would that be the first time you've ever blown off an appointment?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shrugged. "Didn't feel like seeing you."

"So you hide in MY secret hiding place?"

"Yeah, maybe that wasn't too bright of me."

"And you didn't care that you wasted Kelsi's time?" Troy asked.

Gabriella didn't respond, she just continued staring at the floor. Troy sat next to her on the bench, causing her to flinch and move as far away from him as she could.

"Look… I know I've been a bit of an ass the last few days. I just had a shithouse weekend and a shithouse few days and I was stressed and the pressure just got to me," Troy tried to explain.

"And rather than telling me that, you just thought you'd just continue to act like an ass?" Gabriella demanded.

"Well…"

"You know what, I came up here because I didn't want to talk to you. I'm not done with not wanting to talk to you. So I'll be leaving now."

Gabriella stood and moved towards the staircase. Troy was a step behind her and reached out, grabbing her arm and pulling her back to face him.

"Okay, so you're just gonna avoid the problem we're having here? Run away? That's a great plan Gabi. Are you planning to ditch drama and our rehearsal as well?"

"No," Gabriella said softly. "But at least there I can be Minnie dealing with Arnold. Because right now, I don't want to have anything to do with Troy Bolton."

----------

Gabriella was true to her word. Ditching class wasn't a concept which entered into her vocabulary. However the tables were turned from the last couple of days. It was Gabriella who was sullen and quiet. Who said nothing to Troy other than "and now let's work on Scene VI from the second act." Who made continual excuses to work on her scenes with anyone OTHER than Troy.

She walked straight past Troy after they were dismissed, heading straight towards the front of the school. She'd arranged with Taylor that her mom would stop by the school to pick up Gabriella, and then drive the girls to Jeremy's for their meeting that evening. Taylor was waiting on the front steps, anxiously hoping that Gabriella's mood would have improved.

"Don't ask," Gabriella said straight away to Taylor, knowing what was on her friends mind.

Taylor sighed, knowing from the sour tone and expression that Troy had not succeeded in making amends with Gabriella yet.

"I don't know why you're being so stubborn about this. It's not like he cheated on you or something."

"That's not the point Tay. I don't want to talk about it."

----------

Troy got home after rehearsal and proceeded with his new work out regime. A twenty minute run followed by as long as he could stand at his basketball hoop, jump shot after jump shot. To be more precise on this occasion – missing jump shot after jump shot.

Jack Bolton stood inside the house, watching his son practice so diligently. When it came to basketball, Troy was like an open book. Watching Troy, watching the evidence that his emotions were affecting his game, it hurt Jack to know that Troy was clearly suffering.

"You're letting your elbow drop," Jack commented, stepping out into the backyard.

"Look, I'm in a really crap mood and if you're just coming out to rag on me about my elbow then…"

"I'm not out here to 'rag' on you, Troy. I'm here to… to talk to you."

Troy waited expectantly. He could sense that one of his father's speeches revealing a pearl of wisdom was impending.

"You have to talk to her," Jack said simply.

Troy looked at his father carefully, narrowing his eyes. "Pardon?"

"You have to talk to her. Gabriella. I'm assuming that she is the source of your teenage angst at the moment?"

"Life in general is the source of my 'teenage angst' as you put it," Troy responded cynically.

"I know the weekend didn't go as well as you would have hoped, but the fact that you're here training tells me you haven't given up on the team just yet. And I know Chad and the guys well enough to know that they don't hold grudges. And well, the fact is that it is girls and girls alone who have the ability to turn the male brain inside out with frustration."

"Nice mental imagery there dad. My brain turning inside out," Troy said. "Besides… I thought you'd be jumping up and down with excitement that Gabriella is pissed at me."

"No, no I'm not," Jack said, surprised that Troy would make such a comment. "I've already told you that I have no problem with you dating Gabriella. My issue was never with Gabriella, you know that."

"Boys, dinner is ready," Lucille's voice rang out from the back door.

Troy tossed the basketball he was holding onto the lawn and picked up his warm up jacket from the ground, heading towards the house.

"Troy…" Jack called after him.

Troy sighed and paused, turning around. "What?"

"Do you care about Gabriella?"

Troy softened. "What kind of question is that? Of course I do."

"Then whatever is going on, just talk to her. Make it work."

Jack walked past his son into the house, leaving Troy staring into the distance in contemplation. His father always had a way of breaking down the seemingly complex into something rather simple.

----------

Troy paced backwards and forwards in his room after dinner. He'd sat down and worked on various items of homework and assignments, dialling Gabriella's number consistently every ten minutes. And consistently every ten minutes, he would hear the soft, "Hi this is Gabriella, I can't come to the phone right now but if you leave your name and number I'll call you back as soon as I can, thank you."

It was now four days since they'd kissed, five days since they'd had a proper conversation. Troy needed it to be over. He needed it to be over because… he needed her. His father was right. He had to make it work.

----------

Gabriella was sitting at her desk reading her history textbook when she heard a light rapping at her balcony window. She sighed. Who else would be there than him? She stood, and opened the door a crack.

"What do you want?" Gabriella asked coldly.

"Could you help me with my chem report?" he asked, shuffling his feet, clutching a folder at his side.

"You came here at 11 at night to ask for help with your report?" Gabriella asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well I finished it already… so it was just my excuse, to get you to read over it. The real reason is that I wanted to talk to you and you ignored my phone calls."

"Didn't that indicate to you that perhaps I didn't want to talk to you?"

"I was trying to apologise to you at lunch today, you realise? Normally the human thing to do is to at least hear the person out."

They both were silent for a moment.

"Gabi this is stupid," Troy said gently. "I… I miss you."

Gabriella softened, hearing the sincerity within Troy's voice. It didn't change the fact that she was annoyed with him, or that he had tapped into the very core of her insecurities about being in a relationship. However it opened her to the concept that maybe her insecurities weren't worth the effort she had to put in to fight with him.

"I know it's stupid. Maybe… maybe I'm PMSing or something. I just… you just really pissed me off, and I don't get angry at people very often. And to be angry with you…" she trailed off, not sure how to end her sentence.

"Fair enough that I was being an ass, we've established that, I admit it. But I don't think you were shitty with me because I was being an ass, I think there's something more going on here. Coz… it doesn't make sense that you retaliate by just being a bitch back. I mean… I know I haven't been around much and maybe you're feeling neglected…"

Gabriella interrupted. "Troy, that's not what it's about. I told you last week that I completely understand that we weren't going to have a lot of time for one another for a while."

"Then what's going on?" Troy asked. "I can't apologise enough for the way I've treated you this week. But it wasn't about anything that you have done, I just… I just was stressed and took it out on the people around me. I guess…. After my flip out earlier in the year, you know, before we were dating… I guess I thought you would have realised that."

"Which I also understand. You could have avoided this whole situation by just saying to me on Monday – Gabriella, I've had a really crap weekend and I'm really stressed and I'm in a bad mood and just don't take it to heart."

"What's the point in that? I think the fact that I was in a bad mood was obvious, it didn't need to be stated."

Gabriella paused, trying to find the words to explain to him why she had been upset with him.

"Troy I… last week I let down my most… my most heavily build up barricade. Which I add, I let down for practically no one. Even… even Taylor who I have become really close with on so many levels… but I don't talk to her about any of the things that I told you about. Maybe it was just unfortunate timing on the part of your shitty mood, but… I guess there was a part of me that couldn't help but feel like you were being weird because you didn't know how to act around me."

Troy went to speak, but Gabriella kept speaking, interrupting him. "Which I KNOW is self absorbed because I know you well enough to know that you aren't that guy. And I knew on Saturday that something was wrong, and that it was to do with the team and everything. But then… I guess I thought that maybe… that we were close enough that you would feel as though you could come to me with your problems. I took it personally that you were obviously really upset about something and not willing to talk about it with me."

"But that's just me Gabriella!" Troy insisted. "I don't talk about stuff when it bothers me. I don't know if it's a Troy thing or a male thing. But… I just put my head down and plough ahead. What's the ponit in burdening a whole bunch of people around me with my problems? I mean, you've had to deal with so much in your life. You don't need to listen to me whinging about stuff which, in the larger scheme of life, is rather trivial."

"Troy, if it's important to you, then it's important to me," Gabriella said softly, gently caressing his arm. "There is nothing 'trivial'. I mean… look at what happens when you bottle it all up. You bottle it all up and you get into a crappy mood and treat your friends like shit. And then half of the problem is just a misunderstanding."

"Pretty much yeah," Troy admitted sheepishly. "I guess uh… it's something I have to work on."

A knock came at Gabriella's door. Gabriella pushed Troy to the side of the balcony so he would be obscured by the curtains.

"Yes?" Gabriella called.

Her door creaked open. "Just saying goodnight Gabi," Elena said.

"Okay, night mom."

"Oh and Troy? You can come inside from the cold, but I expect you to have left by midnight," Elena said pointedly in the direction of the balcony.

Troy stepped out from his hiding spot sheepishly.

"Yes Miss Montez."

Gabriella blushed as her mother closed the door behind her, stepping back to allow Troy to come into her room.

"So are you going to tell me what happened over the weekend?" Gabriella asked, sitting down on her bed.

Troy sighed, and sat down at Gabriella's desk, fidgeting nervously.

"I know you're new to the relationship thing as well Troy but… I think this is a part of a relationship. Sharing yourself with someone. Knowing that sharing isn't burdening."

"A problem shared is a problem halved," Troy said wryly, referring to his mothers catchphrase which he had spurted to Gabriella less than a week earlier.

They sat in silence for a moment. Troy had picked up a pen and was now doodling in the margins of Gabriella's neatly printed notes from her literature class that day. He cleared his throat, and began to speak.

"On Friday night, when I got to my place after walking you home, all the team were there. It was meant to just be the four that were being billeted at mine but dad decided at the last minute to host a get to know you barbeque dinner thing. Coach Lang thought this was a great idea, so we could all meet each other and then get straight into training on Saturday morning. Since I was the last to arrive and it was at my own house, a big deal was made out of my arrival and where I had been."

"The team has guys from all over the state, they're all seniors, and they're all captains of their teams. The captain of West High, Will Johnson, is on the team, that's where most of the rest of the billets were staying. Johnson, for some reason that I'm not aware of, thought he would get a kick out of telling them that I was in our school musical, and they put two and two together and deduced that when I said I'd had a school thing that I'd been at a rehearsal."

"Oh," Gabriella said softly.

She'd always found it interesting how people had reacted to each of them being involved in the musical. Back in the beginning when their own friends hadn't taken the concept well, Taylor's focus had been on the fact that she wanted Gabriella to be in the decathlon and found it hard to comprehend that someone could be a part of two different cliques at once. From what Troy had told her, Gabriella understood that a part of what he'd had to deal with from his mates was just general prejudice about musicals, and in particular a male being involved with a musical.

"I've put up with a bit of shit since all of this began. I mean, Chad and the guys came around pretty quickly, and so did everyone else at school. I guess… I guess coz they know me, they know that I can play ball. But still, I didn't want the guys in the team to find out that I was in the musical. It's not that I'm ashamed, but it's because I KNEW that I would get judged. When the coaches and my parents were around, they didn't say anything, but they left us alone for most of the night. There were all sorts of little snickers and comments, coming mainly from this group of three of the guys. They're all from private or prep colleges up north. This guy Ian Jackson was the ringleader of it all. A few nicknames were tossed around. I think it was 'sissy fag' and some variations of it which were most commonly used, of course Jackson came up with it."

"Oh Troy…" Gabriella said softly.

"It gets worse," Troy said. "Training the next was… well I'll put it bluntly, it was fucked."

He proceeded to tell her about Saturday's training, and the way the guys on the team had treated him.

"And the coach tolerated this shit?" Gabriella demanded.

Troy shrugged. "Technically they weren't violating rules. Anyway… I finally got a bit of good game time in when two of the worst of the fuckwits were on the bench for a bit, and the rest of them settled down. Anyway, we then had a few hours of discussion time over dinner, talking about strategy and the competition and stuff. We were then given the rest of the night to do whatever we wanted, but we were meeting again at 8 the next morning for training so I figured the guys would just want to go back to mine and chill."

"Jamal, one of Jackson's crowd, suggested we all go catch a movie, which I didn't really want to do but… I dunno… I guess I figured if I could try to fit in with them and make them realise that I'm just a regular guy then maybe they'd get over it. Plus I volunteered to drive the guys who were staying at mine. So that's when I ran into you girls… and we watched the movie…" Troy trailed off, pausing before continuing with the story.

"After the movie we were kind of loitering around in the car park. I just wanted to go home and crash but since I'd driven them and I didn't want to be a party pooper so I just went along with it. We were just chilling out, mainly talking about basketball. It was okay. Some of the guys are actually pretty decent, I make them all out to be fuckwits. A couple of them that were staying at mine, Lee and Vince, I actually didn't mind them. But Jackson's crew were all conceited jerks though. Making it sound like they are God's gift to the basketball world. Anyway the conversation evolved and we… okay… you won't like this. We were talking about girls… we do that. Us guys."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "If it makes you feel any better, girls talk about guys as well."

Troy cracked a smile. Normally he would have pushed on that comment, teasing her about what she said about him. "Well… since they'd sorta half met you, they wanted to know about you. And uh… Jackson had some commentary on the matter. Which I didn't like. And that's how this happened," Troy said, motioning to his eye, which was now almost completely healed but still had the remnants of the bruising.

"If you're going to tell me the story you might as well tell me the WHOLE story of what happened. I wanna know what he said," Gabriella said softly.

Troy sighed. "You won't like it."

"Don't care."

"Maybe I should tell you later when…"

"Troy."

He sighed. "Jackson suggested that he should introduce himself to you so you can meet a real man and that I should look out… and he told me he was going to go and show you a good time because a sissy fag like me couldn't possibly please a 'fine piece of ass' like you."

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Oh."

"That's when I hit him," Troy admitted, sounding a little ashamed. "I'm not proud of it but I did. He just… it was like the straw that broke the camels back you know? The guy just didn't let up…. Everything he said to me was rude or condescending or some underhanded little insult and… I was just so pissed off at him and it just happened. A few punches were thrown, I've also got a nasty bruise way worse than my eye here," Troy said, indicating to his stomach. "But we were broken up quickly. And Lee and Vince said that we were gonna leave and that was that."

"I'm sorry," Gabriella said softly.

She wasn't apologising in a, I'm sorry you had to go through that way. She was apologising as though she felt responsible. Troy dropped the pen he had been doodling with the whole time he'd been speaking, shocked that Gabriella would apologise.

"Why are you sorry? It's not your fault."

"If it wasn't for me, you probably wouldn't be in the musical," Gabriella commented.

"Well no but… it's still not your fault. I don't regret signing up for Twinkle Towne. Sure it's been hell but it's also been fun. And… and it's brought us closer together. So don't be sorry."

"You really seemed to have let these guys get to you," Gabriella said quietly. "I mean… I thought you didn't care what people think of you?"

"Well… I don't. Not really. It was just…" Troy sighed, and looked right into her eyes, his vulnerability on display. "I was being BULLIED Gabriella. ME. Troy Bolton. Basketball captain. I was being bullied. Never, ever, ever in my life have I felt so… so… so lonely and helpless. I'm just so used to people liking me, wanting to be my friend. And this guy… no matter what I said or did, he took pleasure from just being a complete ass towards me. I told my dad that I was thinking about quitting the team and then he was shouting at me. That's why I was late to school yesterday, I had this massive fight with my dad on Monday night and I forgot to set my alarm and normally he would wake me up but he was still pissed at me so he didn't bother. And then… and then Darbus was going on about how shit the rehearsal had been and then I got back a mark for a rough draft I did for English and… I flipped out again."

"An accumulation of everything all at once," she said gently.

Troy nodded. "I'm… I'm a bit better now. Not thinking about quitting the team anyway. And I didn't sleep much this week in order to catch up with some school work."

"Not exactly the healthiest of methods."

"When was the last time you got a whole eight hours sleep?" Troy asked wryly.

"Touché."

Troy stood from the desk chair and sat next to Gabriella on her bed.

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about everything. You were right to be offended when I couldn't talk to you about stuff. I guess…. I'm just not used to the whole, having another person to think about. I've never… I've never been in a relationship where I felt like I could talk about all this kind of stuff with," Troy explained. "So… it's new. And different… it's not that I don't want to share myself with you. It's just… it takes getting used to."

Gabriella nodded. "I understand that. And… and I'm sorry that I let my own issues prevent me from hearing you out. I mean… I knew that it wasn't anything directly personal against me but I guess I just have my own insecurities and stuff which got me mad at you."

They sat in silence for a moment. Troy picked up Gabriella's hand with his left hand, caressing the back of her palm with his thumb.

"Are we okay now?" Troy asked softly.

"I'm okay if you're okay."

"Then we're okay."

"Good because… I… I missed you," Gabriella said, blushing a little. "Even when I didn't want to see you, I missed you."

"As far as first fights go, this was pretty stupid, huh?" Troy commented.

"We didn't really fight," Gabriella protested.

"We just hardly talked for three days."

"We haven't kissed since Saturday," Gabriella added.

"I do believe that situation should be rectified," Troy responded, and glanced at his watch. "And oh look, there's a whole twenty minutes until you turn into a pumpkin at midnight."

"Cinderella doesn't turn into a pumpkin."

"Oh? Then what happens to her?"

"The ball gown disappears and she's just in her rags and stuff."

"Then where does the pumpkin come in?"

"That's her carriage."

"Why are we talking about Cinderella when we could be kissing?"

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE – I think that might have been my longest chapter ever. Congratulations on reaching the end without falling asleep. Thoughts? Are you happy I had them make up? I was going to break the chapter in half and make you sweat it out but I just want to get this story finished so badly that I figured, what the hell, just put it all as one chapter. **

_**Next chapter… Troy gets a spiffy new haircut… and then we have Troy's training weekend in Santa Fe, as well as the state final of the decathlon in Rio Rancho.**_


	32. Hypnotised

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. I acknowledge that I stole the line about the improperly filled answer bubble from the Band Candy episode of Buffy.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I would like to send a shout out to icesk8ter93 who asked me in a review of Chapter 24 if I was going to explain the change in hairstyles of Troy and Gabriella between HSM1 and 2. I have to admit, when you first asked this I was a bit dubious as to whether it was something I could incorporate into a fan fic without it becoming a bit blah. But then I was at work (where I get most of my fan fic ideas actually, that's what happens when you work in supermarket retail, it's mindless and boring and so your brain wanders) and I had this little brainwave and I HAD to incorporate it. (Shout out to the 'metro' boys at work who would never in a million years actually READ this but I've acknowledged you all anyway!) And that portion of this chapter actually then links to this one shot I'm planning to write, it's like a random fluffy humour type thing where we explain how Gabriella then gets her hair cut. Ha. So thanks for sparking my imagination!**

**Don't worry. The whole chapter isn't about the haircut. Not even I could drag an issue out for that long.**

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**Chapter 32 – Hypnotised**

There were a whole list of things that Troy could be doing after school Thursday, being his one and only afternoon off that week. Well, the ideal would be Gabriella time but she was at a decathlon meeting. He could be diligent and work on his lines for the musical; do some extra training; study for his science test. He could be social and chill out with Chad and the guys; go skateboarding at the park; check out a film at the Cinemax; go over to Zeke's and play some Nintendo Wii.

Instead, Troy was sitting in a cushy chair with a black smock around his neck, staring into a mirror which was outlined with bright lights. A young, attractive girl with unnaturally blonde hair and streaks of bright red throughout came rushing over to Troy.

"Sorry for the wait darling, Mrs Hoffenfeffer insisted that we squeeze her in for a perm straight away before her dinner at the country club tonight," she explained, rolling her eyes. "I'm Jaime by the way. So, what brings you here today sweetheart?"

"Uh… I was looking to get a haircut," Troy said awkwardly.

"Well that much I gathered. Any look specifically you were after?" Jaime queried.

"Yeah. Make me look… older."

"Older?" she repeated questioningly.

"Yeah. Older," Troy said with affirmation. "I was looking in the mirror the other day and it struck me that I look about twelve. I'm almost seventeen. I shouldn't look like I'm twelve."

"Twelve is a bit of an exaggeration honey. It would be illegal for any twelve year old boy to look as hot as you do. However, I think the main thing is to get rid of some of the length here."

Jaime ran her fingers through his hair.

"Once we do that, you'll also get rid of the remnants of the faded blonde bits that I can see you felt inspired to add during this whole phase that teenage boys seem to have been going through lately, adding random bits of bleach. We could even add a bit of brown colouring to…"

"Woah woah. Colour?" Troy asked, sounding alarmed. "My hair is already brown. Why would you need to add more brown?" On afterthought, Troy added defensively, "and what's wrong with the bleach?"

"The brown would just make it richer. And the bleach is fine but I would love for you to trust me when I say that it will look a whole lot better without." Troy looked at her dubiously in the mirror. Jaime smiled soothingly. "I'll do the cut first then, and we'll see how you feel about the colour, shall we?"

Troy nodded. "Yes. Sounds like a plan."

Jaime fussed about, collecting the appropriate scissors and preparing to begin cutting.

"So. Is it a college girl you're trying to make yourself older for?"

"No! I have a girlfriend!"

"Oh… is she cheating on you with a college boy? Trying to compete with him?"

"No!!" Troy said, horrified.

----------

The next morning, Troy would never admit to it, but he was freaking out. In high school, appearances are everything. A hair cut can send your social status plummeting. Troy didn't care about being popular and having cheerleaders coo at him over how he looked; but in the process of trying to fit in with the basketball team, he didn't particularly want to make himself the laughingstock of East High. His mother had gone all teary eyed when he had come home the night before – why was beyond Troy. No wonder Chad always advised him to never attempt to understand the female mind.

Troy stepped off the school bus, trying to appear nonchalant. A couple of the kids he knew that were on the bus had complimented him but this hadn't alleviated the worry in the slightest. He heard the familiar wolf whistle of Zeke coming from the front stairs.

"What the fuck is this Bolton?" Chad demanded teasingly with a grin. He knew that Troy had this weird thing where he got self conscious every time he got a hair cut. Rather than placating his self consciousness, he just had to rile it up. "You going all metro on us?"

Troy shrugged. "Felt like a change."

"Is that hair gel?" Jason asked incredulously.

"No, it's just naturally sitting that way," Troy said sarcastically. "Actually, it's styling wax. Have you's seen Gabriella?"

"Gab and Tay went to the library. Said they'd see us in homeroom," Chad informed him.

In the walk from the front of the school to homeroom, Troy was approached by fourteen girls he was on semi friends basis with, each one complimenting his hair. One would think this would provide some form of self confidence in his new look. But there was only one person whose opinion really mattered.

As the boys were about to round the corner into homeroom, Troy spotted Taylor and Gabriella down the corridor in the other direction, heading towards the classroom.

"I'll just be a minute," Troy told his mates, gesturing towards the girls.

They looked up and nodded, realising what he was referring to.

"Hey Troy boy, looking gorgeous," Monica gushed as she came from behind him, also heading into the classroom. She ruffled his hair as she spoke.

"Thanks Mon," Troy said. "But please don't touch my hair again, I wrestled with the product long enough this morning without your interference."

She giggled. "New world for you hey?"

"Something like that."

---

Meanwhile, as Taylor and Gabriella headed down the hallway, they laid eyes upon Troy.

"New look. Did he tell you he was getting his hair done?" Taylor asked.

"No," Gabriella replied.

She was hypnotised, staring at him longingly. She knew he had been training a lot lately, doing weights. The combination of the new haircut and the extra muscle adorning his upper arms was rather appealing. Gabriella wasn't shallow, she didn't care about appearances. She'd always thought Troy was cute but that wasn't why she was interested in him. However a little eye candy along the way was never a bad thing and right now, Gabriella's eyes were running up and down Troy in a sudden realisation of just how gorgeous her boyfriend really was.

As Taylor and Gabriella reached within comfortable conversational distance away from Troy, he leaned up against the wall by the door to the room, trying to appear casual and aloof.

"Morning," he said indifferently, avoiding any direct eye contact with Gabriella.

Taylor couldn't help but smirk at the smouldering looks that Gabriella was shooting Troy. She could see that Gabriella wasn't going to openly voice her opinion, however her opinion was written all over her face.

"I'll make this simpler for you the two of you," Taylor declared. "Gabriella, Troy is nervous about whether you like this new haircut. Troy, Gabriella thinks you look sexy. Gabriella, Troy questions whether you think that because you feel obliged or because you actually feel this way. Now just kiss one another in a manner which is inappropriate on school property and settle the matter, allowing us all to move on with our lives. The end."

Taylor walked past the two of them, into the classroom. Gabriella giggled, Troy's eyes finally lifted from the ground to make eye contact with Gabriella.

"Well I was thinking 'hot' but sexy also works," Gabriella said with a blush.

"I'll skip the questioning if it means we kiss sooner," Troy replied.

"I think I can live with that."

----------

The East High scholastic decathlon team was seated around Gabriella's kitchen table in silence. They had packed away their textbooks and reference notes. Now, they were just sitting together.

"This is it. Either we've prepared enough or… we haven't," Martha said, letting out a big sigh.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Freddie said sarcastically.

"All we can do now is go home, get a good nights sleep, and then tackle tomorrow like we have every other round," Jeremy said confidently.

They all nodded, and began to pack up their belongings.

"Does anyone need a lift home?" Jenna asked. "Tay? Is your mom coming?"

"I'm staying here tonight," Taylor said, referring to Gabriella's.

"Okay. Karen?"

"A lift would be great, I was gonna call my dad but if you're going that way."

Gabriella and Taylor stood at the doorstep, waving the team good bye.

"See you all bright and early outside the school!" Martha called brightly.

All of the various parents, families and teachers who wanted to make the trip up to Rio Rancho were meeting at the school at 7 in the morning, and then organising carpooling. Gabriella glanced over at Taylor. She didn't need her friend to say anything. It was obvious that she was nervous.

"Come on. Let's go upstairs and talk about boys and the importance of firm nail beds. Get our minds off the big issues," Gabriella suggested.

Taylor smiled. "Sounds like a plan. So, you never did tell me exactly what happened to fix things with you and Troy!"

----------

It had taken a series of logistical arrangements, but finally Troy had convinced Lucille to allow him to borrow her car for the whole weekend. He could have gotten a bus up to Santa Fe for the training camp, but when he needed to rush back on Sunday in time for dress rehearsal, it made a whole lot more sense to just be able to drive. Rehearsal ended at promptly 6:00. He left the school at 6:05, allowing five minutes to kiss and farewell Gabriella. His mom picked him up, they went back to the Bolton household just for long enough for Troy to grab his bag for the weekend and begin the drive.

Santa Fe was about an hours drive north of Albuquerque. Troy was allowing himself an hour and a half, given that he wasn't familiar with the streets of Santa Fe and suspected that he would get himself lost. It was an enjoyable drive, cruising up Highway 25 going a little faster than he technically should have, playing music at full ball. He managed to avoid the heavy traffic spots and made pretty good time, arriving at 7:30.

Troy was being billeted at Coach Lang's, and after being introduced to Mrs Lang and Katie Lang, the thirteen year old daughter who seemed instantly enamoured with Troy, Coach Lang led his protégé out to the back porch to sit and talk about Sunday afternoons material. Technically, Troy could have driven up early the following morning. However Coach Lang had sensed that Troy still felt guilty about missing Sunday afternoon's session so he had suggested Troy come up the night before so they could sit down and go over the material.

Vince and Lee had come into town on the bus – their journey taking quite a few hours longer, given they were from the south eastern part of the state. The boys were also being billeted at Coach Lang's – a strategic move on the part of the coach to try to placate the conflict of the prior weekend.

Troy had made the conscious decision throughout the week to try to bond with the guys in the team who he had actually gotten along with. Including Vince and Lee. The guys arrived at about the same time – Coach Lang going out to pick them up from the bus station at about 9 at night, while Troy savoured the time he had free to read over his musical script for a while. He was in the spare room on one of the two single beds, a mattress on the floor between the two, when he heard the voices of the boys arriving downstairs. He quickly stuffed his musical script under his pillow, and instead pulled out his science textbook.

"Hey guys," Troy said casually when Coach Lang brought them up to show them the room.

"Hey Troy," Lee said affably.

"Sup," Vince said, also in a friendly tone.

----------

At 5 the next morning, Gabriella was wide awake. She'd had a terrible night trying to sleep, tossing and turning. She peered down, seeing that Taylor wasn't asleep on her mattress as she should have been. Glancing over towards her balcony, she saw Taylor standing outside, a blanket wrapped around her. Gabriella got out of bed, heading outside.

"Couldn't sleep?" she questioned her friend.

"Nope. I woke up after having a dream about being chased around by an improperly filled in answer bubble screaming, 'none of the above!'"

Gabriella giggled. "So we're doomed for the written multiple choice round it seems. Hopefully we're okay for the rest."

The girls fell silent.

"I really want this," Taylor whispered. "I can't… I can't explain to you just how badly I want it. It's like I've spent my whole life trying to really achieve something, to prove to people that what I dedicate myself to really is worth it…. That… that I'm worth it…"

"The win will come or it won't… I wish I could tell you that it will all be okay. But we can't control how we go on the day. We might get a terrible run of questions about not just physical education but also a whole bunch of other random areas that just aren't our strengths. Or we might do our very very best and it might just not be good enough on the day."

"This isn't very motivational," Taylor said wryly.

Gabriella sighed. "What I mean is… don't feel like if we don't win today that it reflects your worth. I get that it's important to you but… there is more to life than decathlons. There are things that are more important to dictating whether you are worthwhile."

Taylor nodded. "Yeah. I know."

"You know but I don't think you believe it Tay."

"Maybe we need to leave the psychological deconstruction until a time when I'm not feeling so nervous I could vomit," Taylor suggested softly.

Gabriella glanced at her friend, and put her arm around her shoulder. "I'll hold you to that."

----------

Training was set to begin at 8 on Saturday morning. Coach Lang had told the boys the previous evening they'd need to be ready by 7:45 to get to the session on time. So when they had agreed amongst themselves to set their alarms for 7; Troy set his Ipod alarm for 6, leaving an earpiece in all night. The following morning, he had gone for a run, done a mini weights session and was showering by the time the other boys woke up. This wasn't lost on Coach Lang who was an early riser, and had been in the kitchen when he'd heard Troy come back from his run and head out to the weights that were outside.

The team met promptly at 8, most of the team greeting each other pleasantly. Jackson's acknowledgement of Troy's presence was to smirk and comment loudly to Samuel, "Look, the sissy fag cut off his girly hair." Ironically, the third member of their little gang, Jamal, had a mop of hair which rivalled Chad Danforth's.

----------

The state decathlon final proceedings were set to begin at 9:00. New Mexico had about 30 regions according to state maps, however for the purpose of the decathlon many of the regions combined, leaving 12 regions. All of the teams, supporters and officials were meeting in the auditorium of the Rio Rancho campus of the National American University. The first twenty minutes were allocated to run through the rules and allocate the 12 competing teams to their four heats which were running throughout the morning segment. The top team from each heat was then to go through to the final, being held back in the auditorium in the afternoon.

East High had formed its own section of two rows, with nearly everyone's immediate families present as well as five or six teachers who had made the effort to come along and support the team. In comparison to the previous week, the room was pandemonium. Supporters were out in full swing, school colours and banners seen throughout the room.

"Hey Tay, isn't that Tanesha?" Gabriella said, motioning towards the back of the room where she could see Taylor's older sister scanning the crowd.

Taylor whirled around, grinning upon seeing her. "Eeesh!" she called.

Tanesha came bounding down. "Hey little sis!"

"You came! Why did you come?" Taylor asked suspiciously.

"I knew you were bummed that mom couldn't get off work and I wound up with the day off so… thought I'd come along."

"Thank you," Taylor said gratefully. She'd been feeling very out of place, being the only decathlon member without an immediate family member present.

There was one other big surprise in store. Just minutes before the officials would open the event, three very noisy boys entered the room talking loudly.

"I'm telling you, you parked in a tow away zone!" Chad insisted.

"It is NOT a tow away zone on weekends. The sign said so!" Zeke shot back.

"Oh good," Freddie said sarcastically, seeing the arrival of the boys.

"Wildcats!" Martha shouted, waving to the boys so they would see them.

The boys grinned and sauntered down.

"Okay, coming to watch in Albuquerque with Troy's influence is one thing. But you guys actually got out of bed early enough on a Saturday morning and borrowed a car and drove up here to support us?" Gabriella asked incredulously.

Zeke shrugged. "Nothing better to do."

"I heard there's free nibblies at lunch," Jason added.

"Oh and we brought you a present Gab," Chad said, and pulled something out of his backpack and handed it to Gabriella. He had brought along a photo of the four boys in basketball uniform from seventh grade.

"Since Troy isn't here," Zeke explained cheekily.

"Oh my God! There's a gap between his front teeth!" Gabriella cooed.

"Yeah he had braces after that for a while," Jason said.

"Really?!" Gabriella asked incredulously.

"Chad, do you really think your shirt is appropriate at a scholastic decathlon?" Taylor queried, raising her eyebrows.

"What?" Chad said defensively, looking down.

It read – "I'm not fluent in idiot so please speak slowly and clearly"

----------

The morning training session in Santa Fe started out in a similar manner to the previous week, just doing some general individual training – callisthenics, sprints, weights. Coach Lang next broke the team into two groups – very specifically splitting Jackson's group, and keeping Jackson away from Troy. The two groups were then left to play two on two, rotating around with the extras. By playing two on two, it forced the boys to work more closely with one another, to learn the skills of your team mate, to learn to trust them and rely on them.

"You're really good," Blake said in surprise, watching as Troy made a sleek jump shot.

"You're really really good," Bradin added, also equally surprised.

Their surprise at Troy's skill was matched by Troy's surprise at the compliment.

"Uh... thanks," he said a little awkwardly.

----------

Martha's simplistic statement of either they had prepared enough or they hadn't seemed to ring true. They had prepared enough. East High took out their heat – with a close battle towards the end, but nevertheless gaining the advantage and being able to maintain it. The support from their section of the crowd was motivating to no end – any reservations they'd had in the city final about having crowd support were now removed.

The "What team" lead in of the chant was now being started randomly by various parents. Martha's seven year old brother in particular took joy in starting the chant. He was enamoured with the Wildcat boys, following them around throughout the day.

"One round to go," Taylor whispered with determination.

----------

After lunch break, Coach Lang broke the team into two sides and put the boys into another relatively full scale match. For Troy, the difference between the game from the prior Saturday, and the game they played that day was that, by the afternoon, the majority of the team had come to the point where they had seen that the guy could play. What they thought of him as a man, whether they approved of an athlete being in a musical was irrelevant. At the very least, they could respect that he was a good player.

However there seemed to be a continual issue with Jackson and the two guys that were somewhat following him around like lost puppies. Bullies always seem to travel in packs, well there was no exception here. Troy accidentally bumped into Jamal, to be met by a – "Watch it, you fag!"

----------

East High were neck and neck with Santa Fe Preparatory College throughout the final. Both schools had brought along a loud and proud support contingent. As round 9 came to a close, the schools were tied. Leaving only the final round, a simple question and answer buzzer round, filled with questions coming from a broad array of subjects. This was the round which East High thus far in the competition had excelled at, largely because of Taylor's dedication towards forming a team with a broad range of skills and knowledge.

----------

The boys were sitting around during their afternoon tea break, randomly talking in smaller groups. Troy approached the two coaches hesitantly.

"Uh, did you want me to stay back tonight to work on some free throws or anything?" Troy asked, scuffling his feet as he asked.

"Troy, I don't know how many times I can tell you that we're okay with you leaving early tomorrow," Coach Lang said patiently, the assistant coach nodding in affirmation. "Staying back won't be necessary. We're all eating together tonight anyway, and having a short strategy session after dinner."

"You should enjoy the bit of free time you'll get!" Coach Kirkpatrick said kindly.

"Even if all you do is have a nap. Especially if you're planning on getting up early tomorrow to start training early," Coach Lang said wryly, subtly setting Troy know that he was aware that he had been up early that morning.

Troy nodded. "Right, okay then. I just thought I'd check with you."

He turned and headed back over to where the guys were sprawled over the grass.

"You're taking off early tomorrow Bolton?" Samuel asked incredulously, having overheard the conversation.

"I have a prior commitment," Troy said casually.

Jackson smirked cruelly. "I bet you do. Trust you to prioritise prancing around in tights."

Troy went to walk away and head over to where Bradin and Blake were in a conversation with Vince a few feet away.

"Yeah that's right, the sissy can't even stand up for himself."

"Jackson, shut the fuck up," Vince said, sounding clearly bored with the bickering.

"Oh, and you're on the fags side are you?" Jamal asked. "Jackson is right, it's not right that Bolton is getting out of training tomorrow."

"I'm missing like two hours in the afternoon, and I got here early on Friday to work with coach on what I'd missed out on so why don't you all just mind your own fucking business!" Troy snapped.

"When it affects the team, it is our business," Samuel pointed out.

"Guys, can it!" Coach Lang ordered, the commotion getting louder so the coaches could hear what was going on from their discussion place removed from the team.

Troy heard his cell phone ringing in his gym bag sitting not far away, and went over to grab it. He grinned seeing Gabriella's picture pop up.

"Hey!" he exclaimed.

"We won!" Gabriella shrieked into the phone.

Troy grinned broadly. "Of course you did. Congratulations, that is so, so awesome!"

"Oh my God Troy it was so amazing, our team is so, so good. They're better than my team from last year I think. AND I was just talking to one of the boosters from Harvard! HARVARD Troy. He approached me."

"That's huge!"

"I know! I mean… I haven't really thought about which colleges I want to go to but freaking HARVARD is interested in me."

"Oh look boys, Bolton is talking to his girlfriend. Let me talk to the little darling," Jackson said snidely.

Troy ignored him.

"Troy… was that…"

"Don't worry about it," Troy assured her. "Listen… I have to go, we're finishing our break in a minute. I'll call you later on okay? I think we're going to be finished up for the afternoon in about an hour or two."

----------

Gabriella was staring down at her phone. Glancing across the room, Chad noticed Gabriella's look of worry as she sat down dejectedly.

"What's up?" Chad asked, approaching Gabriella.

"I think those guys are still giving Troy shit," Gabriella said softly. "I just called him to tell him we won and… he sounded weird."

"Troy can handle himself," Chad assured her.

Gabriella glanced up at Chad, knowing that Troy hadn't told his mates the full story. "Yeah I guess."

"Anyway, there's nothing you can do about it Gab. Just enjoy your win, celebrate, Troy would want you to do that. You'll see him tomorrow at your rehearsal anyway. We were thinking grabbing some pizza tonight, getting a big group together. You in?"

"Sounds good," Gabriella agreed.

She took a final glance at her phone before putting it into her pocket, Troy's picture from New Years Eve was her wallpaper. She sighed, contemplating how things had been so simple then. It had been about a girl, meeting a boy, liking a boy. Now… there were all of these variables. Musicals and decathlons and assignments and basketball competitions and mean boys who Gabriella felt the need to kick where it would hurt.

"Oh my God we're going to the south western nationals!!!" Taylor's shriek ran across the hall, pulling Gabriella from her reverie.

Gabriella plastered a smile onto her face. Celebrate first. Worry later.

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay. So at one stage I was about eight chapters ahead of myself. And then I just got so caught up in this whole sequel thing that I've now only actually finished one more chapter. I mean I've done bits of the whole rest. But now, more than ever, I need some encouragement because for the first time, I'm really finding that I'm struggling to get the words out the way I want them. This chapter here took FOREVER, and the next one took even longer, and I've been working on Chapter 34 for it feels like two weeks. So yes. You guys have been so supportive lately and I would just love you forever and ever if you could continue to motivate me with your lovely words... pretty please. **


	33. Symbolic Gestures

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron.**

**ATTENTION NEW READERS – There is a summary of the events to date in my profile… don't be deterred from reading this story just because you haven't read the first 32 chapters because it's all there in a very, very, very abridged version :-) **

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm really glad that everyone seems so interested in Troy and the basketball team because this forms a huge part of the plot for the sequel I've been going on about. I don't actually wrap up that plot line in Here With You – it's less a week until the musical, and the last chapter is set on opening night of Twinkle Towne. I have a whole list of reasons why I'm doing this which you'll get in my final massive author's note.**

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**HERE WITH YOU**

**Chapter 33 – Symbolic Gestures**

Coach Lang, Coach Kirkpatrick and the twelve boys in the New Mexico state team were sprawled around the Lang family lounge room. Pizza boxes were scattered throughout the room, as well as cans of soft drink. Coach Lang was hoping to achieve more of a general, casual discussion vibe, hence offering up his home for the evening session – just a general discussion about their previous experiences, in turn leading to pinpointing potential plays and strategies they could employ as a team.

"You guys might have noticed that we've spent a lot of time going back over fundamentals. Which, I've explained, is because we need to get used to playing together as a team. Similarly, tonight I just wanted to sit and talk about some different game strategies and plays which, might be obvious to you, but they will be new to us as a team."

"We've been trying out both man to man and also zone defense strategies in our practices. I'm handing out to you now a packet of information about some of the other key teams we have to watch out for in Phoenix. As you would all know, often your defensive strategy will be a reflection of your opponents offensive strategy…"

Troy couldn't help but tune out a little and wonder what everyone was doing back in Albuquerque…

----------

In many ways, it was just like a typical East High celebratory hang out scene. The group had pulled together a few tables at the local pizzeria.

"You see, the secret to achieving the crisp caramelised crust is using a short, sharp burst of heat which will cook the sugar but does not impact upon the custard below. A hot grill will do the trick, but I personally like to use my blow torch because…"

Jenna and Martha were emulating the look they had perfected for the purpose of looking interested when a teacher was going over the same material for the benefit of the average student for the eighty fifth time. That look of 'wow I'm really interested in what you're saying' when in actual fact, both girls were not listening to a word of Zeke's excited rambling.

Meanwhile Jason and Kelsi were engaged in a conversation which many would consider rather deep for the likes of Jason Cross.

"I've pretty much finished up writing my first screenplay, and since Troy is now hooked up with the drama kids maybe I can get some half way decent actors and I could shoot over summer, if I can get my hands on the right equipment. But what I really want to do is experiment with a Zen film," Jason revealed.

"What do you mean a Zen film? Like meditation and stuff?" Kelsi asked dubiously.

A look of intense passion came over the face of Jason Cross. "Zen film making is where, essentially, no screen play is used. It allows for pure… creativity and initiative and spontaneity, you just follow your gut and see where the journey takes you kind of thing. A real filmmaker, he doesn't need the words on the page to define where and how he should be filming. It's just… instinct."

Kelsi was in awe. "That's how I feel about my piano sometimes. I mean… I love to write music, that's what I do. I'm a composer. I love to write music which then allows other people to use their instruments to deliver my message. But sometimes when it's just me and my piano… I don't think about what notes should follow which notes to make the best sound. I just… I just play!"

Gabriella and Taylor were sitting at one end of the table, engaged in a quiet, whispered conversation.

"I still can't believe the boys came today! I wasn't surprised when Troy got them to come along last time but…" Taylor trailed off.

"Maybe you need to accept that Chad does actually like you," Gabriella suggested.

Taylor sighed. "Chad and I are friends. Full stop. Okay we've made out… once… twice… okay three times. But… we never actually talked about anything happening."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Perhaps that is a conversation that needs to be had."

"No way in hell would I be initiating that! I mean… I really don't see Chad as being… 'relationship' material."

"Do you want me to fish around for info with Troy?" Gabriella asked.

"No!! No! Because the minute you ask Troy about Chad, he will know it's for me, and he will tell Chad. I don't care how tight you and Troy are. Those boys tell each other EVERYTHING."

Chad was up the other end of the table. He'd changed shirts – now with 'Feel My Heat' printed across the front, and the outline of a pair of hands in the background. Paula and Monica were following the shirts instructions, Chad pretending to flirt a little but in actual fact he had his eye trained on Taylor, who was giggling with Gabriella up the other end of the table.

Meanwhile Jacqui was talking to Jeremy and Freddie, who were practically hyperventilating at the concept that a hot senior cheerleader was talking to them.

There was one very noticeable absence within all of the random chatter and excitement. The person who was firmly imbedded as a central figure within the East High social scene. It was funny, in many ways, Troy was the common link between all the different people who were sitting there. It was Troy who had befriended Gabriella. Troy who had served as a means for Gabriella to befriend Taylor – Gabriella forging social stems with Taylor as she tried to get information about Troy. It was Troy who had befriended Zeke and Jason in middle school, bringing them to meet Chad. It was Troy who had been friends with Paula for years and years, never crossing the line into more than friends, even when his popularity status went through the roof and hooking up with cheerleaders was all the rage. It was Troy who had recognised that Jason had somewhat of a thing for Kelsi and encouraged her to hang out with their group. So his presence, or lack of presence rather, left a gaping hole in their midst.

----------

Up in Santa Fe, the team meeting had ended and everyone had drifted to their requisite billets home. The previous weekend, they'd all been left feeling fairly sluggish at the Sunday portion of practice after the late night the previous evening. There was no suggestion of a group social activity. Troy, Lee and Vince headed upstairs to the bedroom they were frequenting. All three boys had brought various items with them for the purpose of completing school work – Vince his laptop, both Lee and Troy a couple of textbooks and notepads.

"So your musical is next weekend?" Vince asked Troy casually.

Troy was surprised. Both boys had made effort to be nice to him, to befriend him. He was glad that they tolerated his participation in the musical. But to actively ask about it, Troy couldn't help but feel a little suspicious.

"Uh… yeah. Hence the whole, dress rehearsal thing tomorrow. It was meant to be today but they changed it since I couldn't be there. Well, Gabriella couldn't be there either."

"Your girlfriend?" Lee asked.

"Yeah. She's in our schools scholastic decathlon team. They had the state final today. Won the state final actually."

"Impressive," Vince said, his awe genuine. "So you're both double threats."

Troy laughed. "I guess you could say that."

"My girlfriend is the captain of our schools debate team. Smart chicks are hot," Lee remarked.

"Hot, but intimidating," Troy replied.

"Tell me about it! Ana will be talking about democracy and freedom of speech and biased reporting and I'll be sitting there thinking, uh, as long as they keep showing the Lakers on TV, I'm cool with it all."

----------

For the second night in a row, Gabriella couldn't sleep. It was a combination of multiple factors. She'd just had the most amazing day, followed by a really genuinely fun evening. She was still feeling the adrenaline rush, the excitement, the joy. And then there was the following day; which she was absolutely terrified about. The dress rehearsal. The first REAL dress rehearsal. The Friday before meant nothing in comparison to what this rehearsal meant. And the disaster of the dry run through did not bode well for the following day. Gabriella was nervous about everything. Nervous about singing, about dancing. She was nervous for not only herself, but for Troy and for Kelsi and even for Miss Darbus. It was like everything they had been working towards was culminating towards this dress rehearsal. It would prove whether they were ready, or whether the wrong decision had been made to cast her and Troy in these roles.

At 2 in the morning, Gabriella lay staring at her ceiling, wide awake. Other people would try counting sheep – Gabriella was listing the periodic table in her brain.

'Platinum… Gold… Mercury… Thallium… Lead… Bismuth…'

----------

Meanwhile, in Santa Fe, Troy was sitting at the Lang outdoor dining table on the balcony. On the table in front of him, he had his science textbook, pages of scattered notes in his boyish scrawl, his torch propped against his backpack, shining to provide just enough light. His basketball was also sitting on the table.

Troy looked up in surprise as the kitchen light inside flicked on. Coach Lang appeared at the back door, looking at Troy in surprise.

"Troy?" Coach Lang questioned.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?" Troy asked nervously.

"No no, I came down to get a drink. What are you doing up?"

"I have this science test this week. My only free time overlaps with sleep time."

Coach Lang noticed the basketball sitting on the table, looking at it questioningly.

"I uh… keep alternating between free throws and the science. I can't concentrate for long, need to get my muscles moving. Besides… guess I need to work a little harder for missing out on half of tomorrow."

Coach Lang pulled back the chair beside Troy, sitting down.

"When I said that I was okay with you missing out on half of tomorrow, I wasn't just being polite. You came up early yesterday… well the day before yesterday now," Coach Lang added wryly, making note of the late hour. "Plus I know you've been working really hard at home to make up for it. Your dad likes to call me regularly to keep me updated."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Trust dad. Has to have his nose involved in every aspect of my life."

"I've been impressed with your game today. Just keep your head down and do your thing, don't let anything else around you get to you."

"Easier said than done," Troy remarked.

"You know when I was in high school and college, I studied ballet," Coach Lang informed him.

Troy whipped his head up, eyes widening. "No way! Get out!"

Coach Lang laughed. "I'm being serious."

"While you were playing college ball at UNM?"

"That's right. Ballet is tough, you know."

"No, I know that. I just… didn't you get shit for it?"

"That I did. Bet you know what that's like," Coach remarked.

"My being involved in my school musical must be a huge inconvenience for you. Bet you didn't expect to have problems like we're having," Troy said quietly.

"It makes my job more challenging yes. But I don't consider your involvement in your musical as an inconvenience or a burden. I admire that you have multiple interests."

"Did you ever want to play for the NBA?" Troy asked.

"At one stage. I had a bad knee injury in my junior year of college. Never quite recovered the way it should have, so I'll never know if I had what it took to make it that far."

"My teammate Zeke wants to be a chef. And Jason wants to make movies. They both love basketball but… I don't think they think about it in the long term."

"What about you?"

Troy shrugged. "I mean… til doing this musical… I'd never thought about anything else. Basketball was kinda… it was all there was to me. Dad keeps talking about getting ball scholarships for college and… to be honest, I don't know if I'm good enough to make a go of it as a career thing. I'm not tall enough, for starters."

"Earl Boykins is 5 foot 5. And Muggsy Bogues was 5 foot 3, and don't forget Spud Webb, only 5 foot 7!"

"Spud Webb had a 42 inch vertical leap!" Troy shot back.

"You've got a pretty impressive vertical leap. Something to work on if you think height is a factor."

Troy was silent. "I dunno. I guess… shouldn't I KNOW for sure if this was what I wanted to do? I mean… when someone is truly passionate about something, shouldn't they just know that they are destined for that path in life? I love basketball, don't get me wrong, basketball is my life. But I just… lately anyway… I question whether maybe there is something else out there that maybe I'm meant to be doing."

"I think you think too much for a sixteen year old," Coach Lang remarked.

"I'm nearly seventeen," Troy said defensively.

Coach Lang smiled. "Okay. But seriously… your life sounds like it's pretty hectic at the moment. Don't stress yourself over these big questions. Take it day by day. The big answers, they'll come to you when you need to know them."

----------

The following afternoon, Troy made even better time on the drive back to Albuquerque, even having enough time to pull through a McDonalds to purchase a nutritious lunch and arrive five minutes early for the 1:30pm start. The entire team of people who had been working on Twinkle Towne were all at the theatre at the one time. Every home economics student who had been assisting with costumes, every manual arts person who had assisted with building a back drop. They had all turned out to act as the first unofficial audience to see Twinkle Towne in its glory.

Troy found Gabriella backstage, pottering about examining her costumes. She was already dressed in her costume for the opening scene – which closely resembled a potato sack.

"Looking hot," Troy remarked.

Gabriella giggled. "You told me when we all hung out at the mall that I would look nice in a potato sack, remember?"

"I do remember. And see, I was right."

She blushed. "How was your weekend?"

"Better than last weekend. Way, way, way better," Troy said. "I think I might actually be able to get through this thing without flipping out again. What about you, Miss state decathlon star?"

Gabriella grinned broadly. "It was so amazing Troy, I wish you could have been there. Chad and Zeke and Jason came! Did you know they were going to come?"

Troy nodded. "Chad mentioned it on Friday. I gather you were surprised?"

"Surprised is an understatement. Taylor nearly fell over, that's how shocked she was!"

Troy smiled slightly. "Doesn't surprise me, when you spend years thinking someone is only as deep as a wading pool. Those guys are good value."

"Mr Bolton, pleased to see you have graced us with your presence," Miss Darbus's voice was heard as she rounded the corner.

"Afternoon Miss Darbus. Ready for a kick ass rehearsal?" Troy asked cheerfully, rubbing his hands together.

Miss Darbus looked at him dubiously. "Kick ass? Is this supposed to be a good thing? That our asses will be kicked?"

"Uh, I think the expression refers to us kicking the rehearsals ass," Troy said politely.

Miss Darbus still looked perplexed, but just shook off the confusion. "If you could go get changed for the first scene. Shelley is in your dressing room now with the stage make up."

Troy grimaced. "Right. Excellent. Stage make up. Can't wait."

Gabriella stifled a giggle, not wanting to insult Troy's manhood, and went to head into the girl's dressing room to have the final touches on her hair and make up completed.

"Gabriella, hang on," Troy said, grabbing her arm.

She turned around, and was pulled in for a short, fiery kiss.

"That was a – congratulations on the decathlon, I missed you yesterday and yes you DO look hot in a potato sack – kiss," Troy said with a grin.

The rehearsal began according to schedule. The opening scene ran smoothly, with a Troy and Gabriella duet – with each character singing separately on opposite sides of the stage, in the classic 'this is what is missing from my life' song that often begins a musical; followed by the first scene of dialogue which had been troubling Troy so much as the first dry run through.

The first major problem of the afternoon came up in Scene III of Act I. Troy was on stage talking with Ryan – or rather, Arnold was on stage talking with Trevor. As Trevor said "I think tonight will prove to be very interesting", this was Gabriella's cue to enter from stage left.

Ryan cleared his throat loudly. "I said – I think tonight will prove to be very interesting," he spoke louder, emphasising each word.

Still no Gabriella.

"Miss Montez!" Miss Darbus's shrill cry called through the theatre.

"I'm coming!" Gabriella's voice could be heard. A moment later she appeared on stage. The zipper on the back of her ball gown was only half zipped up, and she was carrying her high heel shoes.

They watched in amusement as Gabriella struggled to reach the back of her dress to pull the zipper up. Kelsi jumped up from her place at the piano to help.

"Miss Darbus, I'm sorry, but I couldn't find my shoes! There is barely enough room for all of my costumes in that tiny area, let alone for me to get ready!"

"What on earth are you talking about? Your dressing room is state of the art, plentiful with space!"

Gabriella blinked. "I hate to see what a room without space looks like then."

"I assure you, Dressing Room A is…"

"Dressing Room A? No, I'm in Dressing Room F. More specifically, a back corner of Dressing Room F."

"Well who organised that? You need to be in Dressing Room A, it's closest to where the majority of your queues are, and has the space required for your costumes."

"Uh Sharpay allocated the dressing rooms," Ryan said quietly. "I think she is in Dressing Room A. I mean… all her stuff was already in there so…"

"Miss Montez, after our rehearsal, you need to go and swap dressing rooms with Miss Evans," Miss Darbus declared.

Gabriella's eyes widened at the notion of confronting Sharpay with such information, her look of fear not lost on the people around her.

"Would you like me to talk to Sharpay?" Ryan asked kindly.

Gabriella look at up at him gratefully. "Oh would you? I mean… you don't have to if you don't want to."

Ryan shrugged. "It's okay. I know how to deal with Sharpay. Twin thing and all."

----------

"Well that went okay. Not brilliant, but okay," Troy remarked as he drove Gabriella home.

"It's weird. We've been rehearsing scenes and songs and dances in this disjointed manner and now finally it's just all coming together. Like, you can see what all of the hard work has been working towards," Gabriella commented. "I think I need to keep working on my dances though. I mean we've got three full dress rehearsals left so I think I'll be right with making sure I'm on time for all of my queues and singing with the band and stuff. But I'm nervous about the dancing. Actually, maybe I should work with Kelsi at bit on Breaking Free, I feel like I'm out of pitch a bit once the chorus kicks in."

"You're nervous," Troy said bluntly.

"Aren't you?"

"Yeah, but not crazy obsessive nervous like I can hear you're getting. I know this game. You're so nervous that you tell yourself if you work into a frenzy it'll make the nerves go away."

Gabriella shrugged. "If it works…"

Gabriella decided to change the subject.

"So the weekend really was better?" Gabriella asked, not wanting to prod, but at the same time needing to know that Troy was handling the situation.

He nodded. "It really was. I actually get along really well with a few of the guys. And most of the rest of them are cool with everything now. Kinda just like with the Wildcats when they first found out about our audition. There's still three of them that are complete and utter fuckwits but I can deal with that. And I had a really awesome talk with the Coach, he's fantastic. It's off the hook, working with a real coach."

Troy pulled up outside Gabriella's house at that moment, turning the engine off.

"A real coach? As opposed to the fake coach your father is?" Gabriella asked with a slight smile.

"My dad is… he's very set in his ideas of what the best way is for me to train. It's like he thinks that because he's my dad and we live together, that he automatically knows what will work best. Coach Lang acknowledges that he's just met us, he lets us experiment and try out different strategies. I was acting as shooting guard for most of this morning… I mean I prefer point guard but it's always good to work on different strengths." Troy glanced at his watch. "Speaking of my dad… I should get home. I think my mom is doing the night shift and will need her car anyway."

"I have a lot of homework anyway. As I'm sure you do," Gabriella commented.

"Homework. Yeah. Chem test on Tuesday…" Troy paused. "Do you know what yesterday was?"

"Uh, that was a very sudden change of subject."

"Just tell me, do you know what it was?"

"Umm… Saturday?"

Troy rolled his eyes. "Uh yes, but do you know what else it was?"

Gabriella looked at him blankly. "Troy, I've had a really long day and an even longer weekend and to be frank I don't feel like solving cryptic puzzles."

"You really don't know, do you? Yesterday was a month since we went on our first date," Troy told her, a broad grin across his face.

"Only a month?!" Gabriella asked incredulously. "Are you being serious?"

"Well you do the math, freaky math girl," Troy teased. "It's only the beginning of March now. It was two weeks after call backs that we went out. So… that would make it a month."

"Wow," Gabriella breathed.

"Um…. So… would that be our anniversary then? If… if we were to keep track of one?"

Gabriella shrugged. "I guess so. I hadn't really thought about it to be honest."

"Okay. It's decided then," Troy said decisively. He pulled his phone out, navigating the menu into the calendar to check the month and date of their first date. "Yup, that would be right. February 4th was our first date – it's even in a calendar note here with the time I had to pick you up."

"Do you remember how nervous you were about asking me out?" Gabriella asked with a teasing grin.

"Do you remember how you went all weird and avoided me after I finally did ask you out?" Troy shot back.

They both laughed remembering back.

"It feels longer… in some ways. Well in others it feels like the time has flown but… in others, it feels like you and I have been through so much in that time," Gabriella said softly. "I mean… we've only known each other for just over two months. I've never gotten that close to anyone in such a short period of time."

Troy took her hand in his, stroking his thumb against the back of her palm gently.

"It's mutual, don't worry. I can't help but feel like… well… this is going really well, isn't it? Don't you think?"

Gabriella smiled and nodded. "Umm…. Yes. Yes I do think it's going well."

"I can't help but feel like this could become something really serious. I'd never… I'd never thought about being in a serious relationship. And… it just happened. You know? I mean a month is nothing and for all I know we'll break up once the musical is over… not that I am thinking about breaking up with you at all, I meant more that you would realise I'm just a basketball jock and get sick of me and you'd be the one to dump me…"

She brought her free hand to his face, her index finger barely grazing against his lips, silencing him. "Shut up before you dig yourself into a bigger hole."

Troy grinned sheepishly. "But seriously… I uh… I know things were a bit weird last week, especially after you told me about your father and… and then with everything that happened. So… I just wanted you to know how I was feeling about… about us."

Gabriella's response was to press her lips against his in a fervent kiss. Tongues duelled furiously, flicking and massaging and stroking the other. She broke away from the kiss, finding the need to take a proper breath of air.

"I thought your mom needed the car," she remarked softly, lingering just inches from his face.

"She can wait," Troy replied, capturing Gabriella's lips with his briefly.

"But I don't want her to be angry with me," Gabriella protested. "And besides… I have a lot of homework… and have to study for the test…"

She didn't sound very convincing, and didn't protest when Troy drew her in, initiating another series of wet, probing kisses. The next time she pulled away, Troy proceeded to plant kisses along her jaw line.

"I really do have to study," Gabriella said softly.

"Uh huh I know… me too…" Troy murmured, and pressed his lips to hers once again.

She allowed the kiss to continue for another minute – it wasn't exactly a burden after all – but finally had the strength to break away.

"Troy…" she protested, and opened the car door, making clear her resolution that they needed to part.

Troy sighed, but stepped out of the car to walk Gabriella to the door.

"If you kiss me again we might spend another fifteen minutes procrastinating," Gabriella murmured.

"One more kiss, just the one. I promise," Troy said pleadingly.

Troy didn't lie. It was just the ONE more kiss. Sure it lasted for a long time, but there was no breaking of the promise of just the one more kiss.

----------

Gabriella escaped to her bedroom after dinner, settling down with her English literature essay. She had more or less finished, just needed to put the final touches and do one last in depth proof read. Her eyes were trained on the screen of her computer, so deeply concentrating that she jumped a mile upon hearing a light rapping at her balcony door. Hand over her heart from being startled, she spun around on her desk chair to see Troy standing with a sheepish grin on his face.

"This is becoming a regular occurrence," Gabriella remarked, standing aside to allow him to step him. "Not that I'm not happy to see you but why are you here?"

"I'm not staying long. I actually do want to study for the chem test, although my efforts to procrastinate earlier might have suggested otherwise. But uh… I just wanted to… well…" Troy cleared his throat. "Since… since we decided that yesterday was our anniversary I uh… I wanted to give you something."

Gabriella looked confused. Troy wasn't holding anything, as though he was about to hand her a gift. Instead, he pulled off the jacket he was wearing – more specifically, it was his letterman jacket. She gasped slightly.

"You… you want me… to have your jacket?" she asked slowly.

"It's corny, I know but…"

"I love it," she insisted happily, slipping it on immediately. "Thank you. I love corny. And I love this jacket."

"Maybe you'll stop stealing my jacket when you get cold now," Troy remarked with a teasing smile.

"It's really big on me," Gabriella remarked, glancing in her mirror.

"Like the potato sack dress?" Troy queried.

"Don't even compare that horrible item with this gorgeous jacket," Gabriella scolded, fingering the material.

"Sounds like you like my jacket more than you like me."

Gabriella turned away from her mirror back to Troy, pulling him close to her, lingering not far from his face. "Never."

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

**So I know the letterman jacket has been done before as well. And maybe I've just watched too many American movies and TV shows. But I just felt like it was an appropriate symbol to allow Troy to symbolise that he really does feel commitment to Gabriella, without going and buying her some item of jewellery or something. Because, well, that doesn't happen til the last day of school, does it? So he can't exactly go and get her a promise ring or something because then the T necklace would mean squat. **

**Are you happy with how it's going… any comments, queries, suggestions… now would be the time! I'm so close to the end, I can just smell it. (however the end of a fan fiction smells…) There are… three chapters remaining. THREE. Eeek! So your encouragement would be really, really, really appreciated right now. I have one chapter left to write... and it's just so important to me that I get the ending just absolutely perfect, it's kinda intimidating me!**


	34. Nerves

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron.**

----------

**Chapter 34 – Nerves **

_Gabriella – The Wildcat superstar's… afraid?_

_Troy – No no,__ I'm not afraid. I'm just… scared_

_- If you don't know where this is from then what the hell are you doing reading this story?_

_Xander - __If you have to go to the bathroom, it's to your left. If you don't have to go to the bathroom, picture what you're about to face. Better to go now._

_- Buffy the Vampire Slayer 'Chosen' Season 7, Episode 22_

----------

On Monday morning, Troy had stepped off the bus and joined his friends just minutes earlier when Taylor pointed to where Gabriella's mom's car was pulling up.

"Dude!" Chad said in awe, noting Gabriella's choice of clothing for that day. "You didn't tell us you did that!"

"Way to make a statement," Zeke remarked.

Troy smiled broadly as Gabriella crossed the lawn, proudly wearing his letterman jacket. Chad, Jason and Zeke were exchanging looks between them. They knew that Troy was whipped. They didn't need to have the intimate details of his feelings relayed to them to understand just how whipped he was. Giving her his jacket, however, was the difference between a statement of feeling and a statement of commitment. They'd escalated from dating, to boyfriend and girlfriend – to now, being in a serious relationship. Well, at least serious within the landscape of the high school relationship. It was a big statement, a huge statement, in the microcosmic representation of society that high school portrayed. It was a statement to the rest of the world that she belonged to him. All of that symbolised through a single article of clothing.

Troy was grinning like a kid in a candy store, his bright blue eyes meeting her dark chocolate eyes as she traversed the lawn. The glances being thrown in her direction by random kids who passed were lost on the couple as she drew in the gap between them, heading for her awaiting friends. Troy took a few steps forward to meet her just aside the rest of the group. He enveloped his girlfriend in a tight hug, and kissed her softly as he drew away.

"I didn't know if you would actually wear it," Troy admitted.

"Well, you giving it to me represents how you feel… and me actually wearing it for people to see represents that it's mutual," Gabriella explained, blushing a little.

The couple leaned in again for a gentle kiss, however the sound of Chad Danforth hacking and coughing behind them prevented the kiss from deepening.

"Good morning Gabriella," Chad said, making the point that she hadn't acknowledged that any of them existed.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Yes, good morning Chad, everyone."

The group gravitated in the direction of the main entrance, Gabriella's hand slipping into Troy's, fingers entwining, as though it was the most natural action in the world.

"Chemistry test tomorrow," Zeke said with a groan.

"I don't think it will be that hard, this term had been fairly basic," Gabriella commented.

Taylor nodded in agreement. "After all, it's just combining introductory chemistry with biology."

"Like your opinion counts, you're doing both Chem 1 and 2 this year," Chad scoffed, poking Taylor in the side. "Of course you would think that what us simpletons are doing is basic."

"Why aren't you doing Chem 2 anyway?" Troy asked Gabriella.

"I did it at my school in sophomore year, you were allowed to skip Chem 1 if you got an A in general science in freshman year. Which I had, at the school I was at the year before that," Gabriella explained. "But at East High, you can't graduate if you haven't completed Chem 1. So, I'm in Chem 1."

Chad yawned. "That's great. So guys, I was thinking we play some two on two during free period, you up for it?"

----------

"The musical is this week," Gabriella said out loud, to no one in particular, as their group sat around their usual table at lunch time.

"Really? I didn't know that. And I've made other plans for this weekend," Troy said teasingly.

"Don't you feel like it happened quickly? The musical being here? I kind of… I keep forgetting that it's real. It sinks in and then it goes away."

"Well it had better be good," Chad remarked. "Or we will all be there laughing at you."

"Gee thanks," Gabriella said sarcastically.

"I'm sure it's going to be awesome," Taylor said supportively, giving her friend a hug. "Your call back was brilliant, so you only can have gotten better since then."

Gabriella smiled tightly. "Yeah, it'll be fine."

The rest of the group continued to talk randomly; gossipping about the latest developments in Jacqui and Scott's tumultuous on again off again relationship. Troy however was sneaking little glances at Gabriella. Her not so self assured proclamation that 'it'll be fine' wasn't lost on him, especially as he'd been anticipating a bout of nerves from her. Troy made the mental note then and there to make sure he talked to her about it later on.

----------

One would expect Miss Darbus to dedicate every moment of each of her drama courses during show week towards various preparations for the show. Troy had distinctive memory of scrubbing chairs in the auditorium the week before the fall musical the previous semester. Scrubbing led to a dirty soapy water fight between he and Chad, which led to detention, which led to scrubbing the toilets in the foyer of the auditorium. Good times.

However on Monday, twenty minutes before the final bell of the day, they had spent the entire lesson thus far on actual course work. Gabriella kept waiting for Miss Darbus to permit her and Troy to disappear into the room next door, but that time didn't come. A knock came at the door to the classroom, another one of the teachers from the drama department peering in. Miss Darbus motioned for her to come in.

"Thank you so much Miss Langport, it was very nice of you to agree to help me out during your spare."

"It's all for the show, so it's fine Miss Darbus."

Miss Darbus turned back to the class, clapping her hands.

"Okay students. I now require Mr Bolton and Miss Montez to come with me to the auditorium. The rest of you will remain under the charge of Miss Langport, she will be supervising as you continue to work on your scripts."

Gabriella and Troy were slightly mystified, but nevertheless packed up their belongings and followed Miss Darbus through the corridors to the auditorium. When they reached the foyer, Miss Darbus took a seat behind a table that was set up, encouraging the pair to pull up chairs.

"Before we proceed, I uh… I wanted to clarify something with the three of you, in response to a matter which was raised by a particular faculty member at our staff meeting at lunch time today," Miss Darbus began.

As she said 'a particular faculty member' she gave a pointed look in Troy's direction, making clear that it had been Jack Bolton who had raised the issue, without specifically saying so.

"Students who are in the cast and crew of Twinkle Towne, and who take my drama classes, are allocated time within their lessons to work on their various Twinkle Towne assignments. Sometimes, as you are aware, I have had the rest of our class assisting. I believe that there is no better way for a theatre student to learn about the theatre, than to be exposed to an actual production. However sometimes, I have allowed the two of you to work on your scenes and songs whilst the rest of our class have continued to work on their course work. Sometimes with Miss Nielsen's assistance of course."

"Which I personally have really appreciated," Troy said earnestly. "Because well, since Gabriella and I are new to this, we've really benefited from having the extra time to prepare."

Miss Darbus nodded approvingly. "Exactly my train of thought, Mr Bolton, however it appears that there is some concern that your course work may diminish as a result of this attention being focused in a different direction."

Gabriella shrugged. "I've learnt more about principles of playwright through working with Kelsi than from the course textbook. Theatre is a subject you learn through not only theory but through the practical side."

Miss Darbus was practically glowing. "A key principle of this subject Miss Montez, and why this semester is divided into a term on the art of playwright, and an acting techniques term which we will embark upon following spring break. But… what I wanted to explicate to the two of you is that I do acknowledge that, in the short term, your efforts during our classes to dedicate yourselves to the extra curricular drama program are noted. You will be receiving extra credits – Miss Nielsen, as composer, will also receive extra credits towards this terms assessment with the Playwright assignment. As for the two of you, as our young theatrical stars, you will find that, granted you perform solidly next term with our one act plays, your marks for this subject will very much so reflect the effort you have dedicated."

"That's really nice of you Miss Darbus," Gabriella said earnestly.

Miss Darbus nodded. "Well. Now that is cleared up, as long as the rest of the faculty is also clear on this matter…" Miss Darbus again paused to look at Troy pointedly. "… we should be able to concentrate on ensuring we are ready for opening night."

"I'll talk to my dad," Troy said bluntly.

"Excellent. So moving on then. The reason I asked Miss Langport to work with our class today, is because I wanted to address a few extra notes I have from yesterday's rehearsal, which I felt more appropriate to deliver in a private setting."

"Were we that bad?" Gabriella asked, momentary fear running through her. "Are you going to ask Sharpay to take over my part?"

A tiny part of Gabriella at that moment hoped that Miss Darbus said yes, she did want Sharpay to take over.

Miss Darbus rolled her eyes. "No. Don't be ridiculous."

"Oh."

"Do you know what method acting is?" Miss Darbus queried.

"Method acting is where you… follow a method?" Troy supplied not very helpfully.

Miss Darbus suppressed a frustrated groan, and Gabriella suppressed an enamoured giggle.

"Miss Montez?"

"Method acting is where the actor will call upon real life emotions when playing a character, to create a realistic performance," Gabriella explained. "As opposed to where the actor tries to remain separate from the character they are playing."

Miss Darbus nodded approvingly. "Whether you know it or not, when you auditioned for this musical, you were both using a form of method acting when you were performing."

"Uh, I'm sorry I was just singing," Troy said. "There was no acting involved."

"Precisely. You were just singing. You were able to use your own personalised emotions to portray the character and the song," Miss Darbus said. "I think that the biggest problem I am experiencing, the element which I find is lacking – within both of your portrayals – is that raw emotion which was demonstrated within the auditions. Let us talk about your solo, for example, Miss Montez."

Gabriella cringed. "It wasn't very good yesterday, was it? I've been struggling with the key change and I know that my movements could be a bit more fluid…"

"Miss Montez, there is nothing wrong with it technically. Your singing is lovely, your movements are according to those that we have prescribed." Miss Darbus sighed, trying to find the words. "This song is about… is about meeting a boy and being completely swept away into a world of romance, into a world where it no longer matters what everyone else thinks. He is all that matters."

Gabriella nodded earnestly. "I know that!"

"But I don't FEEL that you know it. It lacks… it lacks passion. It lacks emotion. Your job, as a thespian in the chapel of the arts is to encapsulate not only the attention – but the mind, the heart and the soul of the audience. To bring them into our world, into the world of Minnie and Arnold. I may be a few years older than you but I am not completely daft as to why it is that the two of you manage to perform these roles with such poignancy. When you auditioned, you were able to transfer your own little romance into the lyrics. When you have been singing lately, it has become about the notes on the page. I don't care about the notes on the page."

"Similarly, Mr Bolton, when you are working on your solo, I need you to put yourself into a place where you are feeling completely desolate and shut off from the world. Like nothing is going your way. And like the one person who can make you feel better about the world, is the one person who isn't letting you turn to them."

Both Gabriella and Troy understood exactly what Miss Darbus was talking about. There were striking similarities between the journey they had been through as a couple and the story of Minnie and Arnold. However the concept of standing on stage and allowing yourself to completely feel each and every lyric, made both of the young stars feel rather vulnerable. It was daunting, being so exposed, letting the world into not only the emotions of the character but consequently, their own emotions.

Miss Darbus observed that both Troy and Gabriella seemed a little troubled as they pondered her feedback.

"Something to think about, anyway," she said, knowing that there was little she could do now other than hope they delivered the parts as she hoped they would. "Let's just quickly run through the passage which follows 'What I've Been Looking For', the timing was a little off yesterday. And then I'll give you an early mark to go prepare for our rehearsal after school."

----------

Each rehearsal in the final week was to follow the same pattern. The entire show was being run through, not stopping for anything. Following the run through, they would spend about a half hour going over the various notes and feedback that Miss Darbus and other faculty members and crew had about the show.

The fact was that, the more that they rehearsed, the better the show was getting. It wasn't perfect – no high school production filled with amateurs was ever going to be perfect. The previous week, they had gone through each of the three Acts one by one – Act 1 on Monday, Act 2 on Tuesday, Act 3 on Wednesday – and then on Friday gone through some particular scenes that there were notes from. The more they went through the show in a continuous flow – as opposed to as disjointed scenes and dances and songs – the better it was. The transitions were smoother. The costume changes were more efficient.

Gabriella was good at masking her building nerves. Troy would be standing in the wings with her, watching as she shook slightly, as her breathing accelerated. And then she would enter the stage and somehow magically get through it without a hint of her fear being displayed. All they could do was hope that this carried through until show night.

"Do you want to talk about the fact that you are very clearly rather nervous?" Troy asked Gabriella as they trudged home.

Gabriella shook her head. "No."

"Don't you think talking about it would make you feel better?"

"No. The more I think about the fact that the show is this week, the more nervous I get. Right now I just want to go home and study for tomorrow's chemistry test."

"A diversionary tactic," Troy supplied.

"I guess you could call it that."

"So what happens after tomorrow's rehearsal when you don't have another exam on Wednesday to distract yourself with?"

"Well, on Tuesday's we get given a lot of calculus homework. And I do have a literature assignment due on Friday, I've pretty much finished it but I'm sure I could edit it some more if it meant I didn't have to think about the show."

Troy narrowed his eyes. "Gabriella, you can't just ignore the fact that you're getting nervous. It's just going to get worse if you don't deal with it."

"I love how you're suddenly the king of musicals and performing, knowing what's best," Gabriella remarked snippily.

"Ouch," Troy said softly, finding her comment a little harsh.

"Sorry," Gabriella said immediately, knowing she had been out of line. "I must seem like a hypocrite, here I am last week telling you that you need to deal with your problems and not let them fester. But… this is different. Nerves are natural, you can't tell me that you're not feeling nervous?"

"Of course I'm a little nervous but… you looked petrified today when we were in the wings. You looked like you were going to vomit!"

"And did I manage to pull myself together?" Gabriella countered.

"Well yeah but…"

"Troy. Please. Let's just leave it."

Troy sighed, but begrudgingly dropped the issue and humoured her. "So, chemistry test tomorrow. What do you think the short answer questions will be like?"

----------

The following morning, as the gang minus Troy waited out the front for his arrival, something out of the ordinary happened. Troy's bus pulled up – without Troy on board. The last time that had occurred was when he had overslept and come into homeroom late. Looking at each other, all they could do was shrug their shoulders and head to homeroom.

Zeke was the first to enter into the classroom, the door already propped back. A few students were already in the room; sitting, chatting, talking, awaiting the beginning of the day. And there in the front row was Troy Bolton. Studying.

"Dude, there you are," Zeke remarked.

Troy looked up, seeing his friends come in. "Oh, is it nearly the bell time?" Troy asked.

"What's all this?" Chad asked, motioning to Troy's folder and textbook and scattered pages.

Troy grinned broadly, mostly at Gabriella and Taylor who he knew would appreciate his efficiency.

"Look at this!" Troy said, his excitement evident. "They are divided into chapters, colour coordinated according to level of expertise… see? Carbohydrates, Proteins, Lipids, Nucleic Acids… and then seeing as Mrs Perry wrote most of the exam and she seems to love going on about carbohydrates as a energy source, I've got all these extra notes about gluconeogenesis and…"

"What's all this for?" Jason asked.

"The chem test today," Troy responded, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh. I just read through my book for an hour last night. Do you think I should have done more?"

"You did what I did so don't worry," Zeke said to his mate.

Chad shook his head. "I'm disappointed in you Troy. Studying is one thing but this… this is… the organisation here is frightening."

"I am so proud," Gabriella gushed, hugging her boyfriend tightly. "Look at this! It looks like something I would do!"

"I know, I modelled it off your notes," Troy replied with a wide grin.

Miss Darbus entered at that moment in her ever dramatic way, flinging her scarf over her shoulder and setting her belongings down at her desk.

"Not to be rude but I really want to finish going over this bit here about polysaccharides," Troy said to the group who were still milling around his desk.

As they scattered to their various desks throughout the room, Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand. "Hey, can we study together during free period?"

Gabriella nodded. "Of course."

----------

During free period, Troy and Gabriella were sitting in the group project area of the library – where quiet talking was considered permissible by the vigilant Miss Falsaff.

"And so complex life only developed once the atmosphere of the Earth had enough oxygen – because an organism gets more energy though oxidising glucose," Troy finished explaining to Gabriella.

Gabriella was impressed. She was beyond impressed.

"Whatever you did to study for this exam – keep doing it," she advised. "Do it with every other subject. Seriously… don't you just feel that you are prepared? That you have put in the hard work and you've actually learnt something?"

"Ask me after the test when I get my mark back," Troy said cynically.

Gabriella glanced at the clock on the wall.

"We should head to class, the bell will go in a minute. Don't wanna be late for a test."

Troy nodded. "You know, this is the first time I've ever REALLY studied for a test? I mean, done something more than just flicked through my textbook randomly? Won't it be funny if I've put in all this extra work and it turns out I don't do any better than normal?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "There's a great attitude to walk into the room with."

----------

If it was the first time that Troy had walked into an exam feeling prepared, it was also the first time he'd walked out feeling relatively satisfied and confident. Nevertheless, Troy needed to make sure his confidence was warranted, and so the minute they passed the threshold into the corridor where they could discuss the exam, Troy immediately bombarded Gabriella with queries.

"Please tell me that you put in the last MCQ that the bulk of the structure of a lipid is hydrophobic?" Troy said urgently.

"Yes, that's what I put."

"And that the tertiary shape of a protein is determined by the sequence of amino acids?"

"I told you that you'd be fine," Gabriella said reassuringly, squeezing his arm.

"So by having a decent lab partner this term, I've actually been able to learn something?" Troy remarked.

"Well, that and all of studying you did."

"Is this what it's always like for you? Like, you come out of an exam and instead of feeling like you just fucked up, you feel like you may have done really well?"

"Usually," Gabriella admitted. "I couldn't go into an exam feeling unprepared, not ever."

"My dad keeps talking about college, and I know he seems to think that if I work at basketball then a scholarship will just fall into my lap but… I guess it's good to know that if I put in the work, then I could really make my GPA an appealing aspect of the Troy Bolton package."

"It's scary isn't it? How college is suddenly just looming? They want our preliminary subject selections for next year in a couple of weeks."

Troy groaned. "Don't say that. I hate subject selection time."

"We'll sit down and look at it after the musical," Gabriella said. "I had it all worked out but East High's crazy graduation requirements have thrown it all out the window."

"Maybe we can get a few more subjects together next year," Troy suggested hopefully.

"You planning to take AP Physics?" Gabriella asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Maybe," Troy said defensively. "We do physical chemistry next term, so if I do well at that then they would let me in."

"Are you serious? You want to take on more AP subjects?"

"Scarily yes. I've been spending too much time with you and Taylor I think. Anyway like you said, after the musical I'll look at it all more seriously. Which you know, isn't too far away… the musical being in three days and all," Troy said casually.

Gabriella narrowed her eyes. "Troy, if you're trying to get me to talk about the fact that I am shit scared then you can just shut your mouth, okay?"

Troy rolled his eyes, and mimed zipping his mouth shut.

"So I'll help you study for your algebra test as well if you like, when do you have that? In a couple of weeks?"

Troy didn't say anything, he just kept walking, looking straight ahead of him.

"Troy?" Gabriella ventured.

He turned to look at Gabriella, still not saying anything.

"Okay, you're giving me the silent treatment now," she said with an exasperated sigh.

Troy spoke, barely opening his lips at all, just enough to allow his muffled response to come out.

"Ooo tod ee to hut ai ou."

"WHAT?!" Gabriella exclaimed.

Troy rolled his eyes. "You told me to shut my mouth."

"I wasn't being literal!"

"Well I'm a very literal guy," Troy said, in a mockingly solemn tone.

"So if I told you to kiss my ass?" Gabriella enquired.

Troy thought for a moment, and then went to kneel down.

"Ewww Troy gross!"

"I happen to think your ass is delectable, Gabriella."

"You've looked at my ass?" Gabriella enquired, feeling a little shocked.

"And you haven't looked at my ass?" Troy countered.

Gabriella blushed. "Well…"

"Aww, you're all embarrassed!" Troy said teasingly.

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"I said shut up first!"

Troy narrowed his eyes, and went to grab at her. "That's it missy, you come here."

Gabriella shrieked, and the pair chased after one another playfully the whole way to the cafeteria.

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Two chapters remain. TWO CHAPTERS. ****TWO CHAPTERS. ****I was going to write a V-day one shot to post but instead I found myself writing Chapter 36. That's right kiddies, I finished it. And now I'm questioning everything about how I wrote it and questioning the whole direction I've been heading in with not only this story but with my mini sequel an in fact the whole damn series. Oh well, I don't need to burden you guys with my rubbish. Back to you. What are your thoughts? Off the hook? Or do you think I've snapped my cap? Do you think Troy's ass is delectable? **


	35. Strength To Believe

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron. I acknowledge the lyrics which I have acquired from Christina do not belong to me, and that the whole random argument about cavemen v astronauts is taken from the Angel: the Series Season 5 episode "A Hole In the World"**

----------

**Chapter 35 – Strength to Believe**

_So thank you for standing right by me  
So thank you for being behind me  
And watching me grow and letting others know  
That you still believe in what I'll be  
It took awhile 'til I could do what I wanted  
And now I'm so happy that it started where we started  
I'm thanking God that I could be in the position  
To do my own thing now and make my own decisions  
And so I'm thanking you for being true  
And standing by me through and through_

_- Christina Aguilera 'Thank You'_

----------

"So… last musical rehearsal ever today," Troy informed everyone at lunch time on Wednesday, his relief evident.

"Oh, so from next week you'll be free for two on twos after school again?" Jason asked excitedly.

"Sometimes," Troy said, smirking. "I want to put some effort into my assignments and study and stuff. Work on bringing up my GPA. A 3.5 is my goal."

Chad glared at Gabriella. "You're such a bad influence on him. GPA? What is this, GPA?"

"It's the thing that determines whether you get into college," Taylor said wryly.

"There is more to getting into college than GPA," Chad said defensively.

"True. But it's a good start," Troy pointed out.

"Are you glad you won't have to go to rehearsals anymore?" Taylor asked.

Troy shrugged. "All in all, it's been fun. Some of the kids in the drama club are hysterical – dramatic, but hysterical. And it's been fun hanging with Gabriella, needless to say. But I admit, it will be good to have more time to spend on other stuff."

Taylor studied Gabriella, who had remained quiet. She was poking at her macaroni and cheese with her plastic fork, moving the food around.

"Gabriella?" Taylor ventured. "What about you? Will you be glad when rehearsals are over?"

"I think we could use another week or even month of rehearsals," Gabriella said with a forced laugh.

"Are you okay?" Chad asked, noticing Gabriella sounded a bit strange.

"She's nervous but don't ask her about it because she will snap at you," Troy supplied.

"Troy!" Gabriella whined.

"It's true," he countered. "And I bet that's why you're not eating properly."

"I do the opposite. I eat like a horse when I'm nervous," Chad commented.

"So, you're nervous all the time then?" Taylor smirked.

----------

Darren, who was acting as narrator for Twinkle Towne, stood off stage with his microphone as Minnie and Arnold stood frozen, hands joined, gazing at one another.

"Minnie and Arnold overcame great odds to prove that true love will always prevail."

And as the curtains drew closed upon the final act, Arnold leaned forward and kissed his Minnie tenderly on the lips.

"The end," Darren announced.

The cast and crew of Twinkle Towne exploded into applause as the final rehearsal of the show came to a close. Miss Darbus, as per usual, took over a microphone and instructed everyone to take seats in the auditorium. A series of small issues were addressed – the need for everyone to make way for Gabriella to run back stage when shehad less than two minutes at one point to get changed and enter from the opposite side of the stage; a request on the part of the dance choreographer that smiles needed to be maintained throughout the entirety of the closing number; a note for the sound effects team about the timing of the sound of running footsteps during the beginning of the third act.

"My only remaining note is that there may be children watching and I would like to remind Mr Bolton that rigorous use of his tongue is inappropriate within this environment," Miss Darbus said warningly.

Troy's eyes widened and he ducked his head in embarassment, as fellow students laughed and wolf whistled. Gabriella also looked mortified, staring at her shoes.

"I had said previously that if necessary we may need to meet again tomorrow after school. I think you will all be pleased to hear that I do not render this necessary. Instead I ask that each and every one of you take tomorrow to relax, to refresh, to replenish your energy. Do something that calms and soothes your soul," Miss Darbus advised the cast. "You need to be here Friday for a 5:00 start, do NOT be late. There will be a final sound check at 5:05 on the dot, followed by hair and make up. The show will commence at precisely 7:30. Please warn your families and friends that tardiness is a sin in the world of the theatre, and that any business calls should be made prior to the show because if I have to tolerate one pager or cell phone going off in my chapel of the arts, there will be hell to pay."

There was a titter among the group, Miss Darbus had sounded truly threatening when she made this comment. But then Miss Darbus softened. Often, the woman would come across as being threatening and harsh, whilst also being consistently flamboyant and overdramatic. But when it came down to it, Miss Darbus was a woman with a passion for the theatre. She was a woman who respected those who had a passion for performing.

"I am very, very proud of every single person who has been involved with Twinkle Towne. I think that we can make this the best theatre production not only in East High history, but in the history of theatre in our great city of Albuquerque."

Again, everyone burst into a round of applause. It was amazing how being involved in a production the scale of Twinkle Towne could create such a feeling of camaraderie among a group of people. They had spent hours upon hours together for nearly two months in preparation. All the work culminating in what remained – three measly performances.

People were running about packing up, making sure their costumes were carefully stowed away ready for opening night on Friday. Hugs and hand shakes were exchanged as the cast and crew celebrated what they had achieved so far, and wished one another luck for the shows.

"Don't tell Sharpay but I am so glad that you and Gabriella got these parts," one of the drama club members whispered into Troy's ear as she hugged him.

"You guys were really great today, don't be nervous, it's going to be awesome!" Darren said enthusiastically to Gabriella, giving her a hug.

"Opening night is going to kick ass guys!" Katie's enthusiastic voice rang throughout the room, as she hugged every person she came across.

Troy headed backstage to get changed, and then found Gabriella in her dressing room. She was fussing about, laying out her first costume - the potato sack dress - ready to be changed into on Friday. Her hands were shaking slightly as she moved, her breathing a little erratic.

"Hey," Troy said gently, enveloping his girlfriend in a tight hug from behind.

"Hey you," Gabriella replied softly, placing her hands over Troy's where they were sitting on her stomach.

"We should go out for dinner tonight," Troy said softly into her ear. "Nothing fancy. Just, go grab pizza or something."

Gabriella swallowed and nodded. "Okay. I'll just call my mom."

----------

An hour later, Troy and Gabriella were seated at Dion's Pizzeria, sharing a barbeque chicken pizza. The pizzeria was located at the small shopping complex about halfway between East High and the neighbourhood where Troy and Gabriella lived. So far, they'd discussed the weather, subject selections for senior year, the upcoming Spring Fling, Troy's new haircut, the chemistry exam, Chad's crazy t-shirt slogans, Liana's crush on Troy and the British Royal Family. There had been no mention of the rehearsal, no mention of the impending opening night. Troy watched as Gabriella slid her second piece of pizza around. She'd picked off bits of chicken to eat, broken the crust into pieces, and then proceeded to poke at the remaining pizza base with her fork.

"You wanna take off?" Troy asked gently.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. I'm… I'm not very hungry."

Troy went over to the counter to pay the bill, Gabriella not even protesting that he should allow her to contribute like normal. She followed him out the door, however they didn't walk far before Troy stopped. They were just short of the bus shelter where they had sought sanctuary from the rain on their disastrous second date.

_Gabriella once again began to shiver, and Troy finally had the brainwave to retrieve the blanket from his backpack, wrapping it around her. She noted that he too was shivering a little – no wonder when she had both his jacket and the blanket._

"_Want some?" Gabriella asked shyly, holding it open._

_He scooted over sitting closely to her, sharing the blanket between the two of them. The blanket was only small, and they were pressed right up against one another in order to wrap the blanket around each of their shoulders._

"_See, sharing body heat is the most effective tool at our disposal," Gabriella claimed, turning her head to look at Troy._

_He was lingering just a couple of inches away from her. "I think my lips are cold again," he said softly._

"_Our lips have many nerve endings, that's why they are so sensitive to the warm and the cold and to touch," she responded, drawing in the gap between them, kissing him gently._

Troy led Gabriella to sit next to him on the bench of the bus shelter, tracing his finger up her arm and to her chin, tilting her hanging head up so her eyes were level with his.

"Gabi, talk to me baby," Troy said softly, but imploringly.

There was something about Troy's eyes which had the ability to convince Gabriella of anything. To convince her that something would be okay, to convince her to trust him, to convince her to let down her barriers.

"I'm so nervous," Gabriella whispered. "I mean… beyond any nerves I've ever felt before. I'm freaking out nervous. I don't know if I can do it nervous. You were right when you said it would get worse. Because now I'm absolutely petrified. I've been okay during rehearsals but… I just have this feeling of doom about the show itself. It's like a sixth sense, I know that everything is going to go wrong."

"Or rather than a sixth sense, maybe it's just paranoia induced by stage fright," Troy suggested gently.

"I was thinking… that maybe I should call Sharpay and tell her to start practicing… just in case…"

"Please tell me that's meant to be some joke," Troy said, horrified.

He looked into her eyes. "You're not joking," he said softly, realising just how serious she was.

"I don't know where it came from. I mean, nerves are normal, they are natural. But… what I'm feeling is beyond nervous. It hit me over the weekend and it's just been building and building and building."

"I knew you were getting really nervous but… are you serious? Calling Sharpay and getting her to take over? I guess I… I thought that you were really loving this."

"I do. Sometimes. The whole time we've been rehearsing, I've kept the call backs in mind. And how… And how amazing it was once I got over my fear. I've kept my mind on that feeling that I had… the feeling of just complete abandonment, of utter exhilaration and joy. But now… it's like my brain won't allow me to remember, it just keeps thinking about how scared I am of failing."

"Oh Gabi…" Troy said, with a prolonged sigh. "I… I don't know how to fix this. I want to fix it… but…"

Gabriella smiled tightly. "It's okay. It'll sort itself out. Even if I am petrified, I'm sure I'll battle through and everything will be okay."

"But you shouldn't HAVE to battle through, you should be able to enjoy the experience! Isn't that why we did this in the first place? Because we LIKED the feeling of singing, of being on stage together?"

Gabriella didn't reply, remaining silent. After a long while, she stood from her place.

"Come on, Wildcat. Let's go home," she said softly.

----------

Troy couldn't sleep on Wednesday night. Sure, when it came to Troy's own life, his approach might have been similar to Gabriella's, to avoid the bigger issues. But when it came to the people around him, he liked to fix things. He didn't like to see other people suffering. Especially not people who he cared about.

----------

The tight feeling in Gabriella's stomach remained throughout Thursday morning. It didn't matter how many jokes Jason cracked, or how many reassuring hugs she received from Taylor. Even the sight of Chad's latest newest shirt (with the words 'Yes, actually, the world DOES revolve around me' in bold print) didn't perk Gabriella up. It was like how she'd felt on her first day at East High; combined with how she'd felt at that moment standing on the karaoke stage in Colorado, before the song had began to play; combined with how she'd felt as she had been about to begin her failed solo with the church choir. But rather than being for a few moments in time, this feeling had been in the pit of her stomach since Sunday.

Lunch time rolled around, Gabriella wasn't sure why she was bothering to purchase anything, but bought a fruit salad to evade the weird looks she would get if she didn't at least eat something. Paula, Jacqui and Scott were all hanging around at the table. Gabriella sat down in the spare seat next to Jason, noting the lack of Troy's presence.

"I'm telling you man, if an astronaut and a caveman got into a fight, the astronaut would win!" Zeke insisted.

"Dude, cavemen are primal. They operate instinctively," Chad retorted.

"But astronauts represent the part of the human race which has evolved!" Zeke shot back.

"I still don't understand why the astronauts don't get to have weapons. The cavemen would have fire," Jason pointed out.

"Get over it guys, the argument is fucked," Scott said with a sigh.

"Where's Bolton? He would back me up," Chad groaned. "Hang on…. Where IS Bolton? Gab, did he tell you he wouldn't be here?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No."

The truth was that Gabriella was a little annoyed at Troy's lack of appearance. He'd not been around at lunch a lot lately, between rehearsals with Kelsi, basketball and studying. But normally if he didn't run into someone to let them know where he would be, he would leave a note in Gabriella's locker or send her a text message. She couldn't help but feel a little hurt that, right when he knew that she was feeling so vulnerable, that he wasn't around.

----------

Thursday afternoon marked the first afternoon that Gabriella had been completely free since signing up for the musical. Every single day after school, she'd had either a musical rehearsal or a decathlon meeting. She had suggested to Taylor that their team meet after school – knowing she would want something to fill the time with – but Taylor insisted that Gabriella take the time for herself, with the best of intentions of course.

There was no note in Gabriella's locker, no text message on her cell. She waited out the front of the school for a while, scanning the area for Troy. She contemplated getting the bus by herself – although she hadn't used the school bus once in her time at East High – but instead decided that she would enjoy the nice weather and stroll home. She told herself that maybe the fresh air would clear her head and knock sudden confidence into her. Obviously it was a misguided reassurance because by the time she reached home, her nerves had not been placated one bit.

Gabriella picked up her tattered copy of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, which she'd read at least a dozen times. Always with her nose in a book, Gabriella read a broad range of material, all for her own pleasure. All from advanced English style material such as Wuthering Heights, 1984, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Heart of Darkness and One Hundred Years of Solitude; to modern chick literature by authors like Marian Keyes and Cecelia Ahern; to fantasy style books like Lord of the Rings and Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower' series; to action packed legal thrillers by John Grisham.

And yet in times when Gabriella felt like being comforted, she always turned back to Harry.

There was something about the eleven year old boy's journey of self discovery which had never failed to encapsulate her mind, to take her away from the troubles of the world, and escape into Harry's crazy world with three headed dogs and invisibility cloaks and centaurs.

Harry and Ron were in the midst of saving Hermione from the troll which had entered the castle when there was a knock at Gabriella's bedroom door.

"Yeah?"

Gabriella looked up, expecting it to be her mom who she had heard come home about twenty minutes earlier, but was entirely shocked to see Troy standing in her doorway.

"This is new, coming in the regular human being entrance," Gabriella remarked.

"I'm sorry I wasn't around at lunch and then after school but…. I was planning something," Troy said elusively.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "Planning something?"

"Uh huh. I have to put this on you, and blindfold you." Troy held up a black scarf.

"Are you being serious?"

"Yup."

"Can't I wait til we're in the car?" Gabriella queried.

"Nope."

"My mom is going to think we're doing something kinky if I go downstairs blindfolded."

"Well, when she let me in I informed her that I was coming up here to kidnap you and blindfold you so it's all good. Come on," Troy prompted.

"I'll fall down the stairs!" Gabriella protested as Troy put the scarf over her eyes. "I hate being blindfolded, I feel like I'm going to fall over every step!"

"I'll piggy back you," Troy said, undeterred. True to his word, he kneeled down in front of her.

"Can I at least get my shoes and handbag together?"

"Where are they?"

Gabriella sensed Troy's determination and she was actually rather intrigued by the mystery, so she obligingly informed him which shoes to retrieve from her closet, and to get her handbag and put her cell phone and purse inside. She giggled as Troy had her hold onto his shoulder to balance herself as he bent over to slip each shoe on, and then put the handbag over her shoulder. He kneeled back in front of her, and guiding her hands onto his shoulders, stood up with her on his back.

Gabriella felt the movement of Troy carefully stepping down her stair case.

"Bye Miss Montez, I'll have her home safe and sound by 11," Troy called.

"Mom, why did you agree to whatever he's doing?" Gabriella complained.

"You love it," Troy said, opening the Montez front door, swinging Gabriella around as he turned to close it. "Right, so once we get to the car I'm going to have to set you down. I'll help you into the car, and put my hand on your head so you don't wack it against the doorframe."

"Or, alternatively, you could have just not done this whole crazy blindfold situation."

Troy took the most illogical, impractical route he could possibly have taken for the very short drive to the desired destination, consequently taking twice as long as possible. He took multiple U turns and did a random three point turn twice, to try to throw her off track.

"Troy, I might be smart but I have no sense of direction so all of this circling around is only making me dizzy," Gabriella commented. "For all I know we could be in freaking Arizona by now."

"Well I assure you, that is NOT the case," Troy replied.

Finally, he pulled up in the parking lot of the destination.

"Are we in public? Am I going to be the blindfolded freak?"

"We're in public but there's no one around," Troy assured her.

"Are you going to piggy back me again?"

"If you want me to."

After helping her out of the car, he knelt down, again hoisting her onto his back. He even took a crazy walking path for the short distance between the car and where they were headed. Gabriella heard a door opening, and sensed that they were now indoors again.

"Where are we going?"

"Gabriella, I've blindfolded you, do you really think I'm going to just answer that question?"

"It was worth trying."

She noted that their voices were slightly echoey. Her brain was racking in complete confusion as to where on earth they were.

"Okay I'm setting you down now, but don't take off the blindfold," Troy said warningly.

Gabriella obeyed, standing still, awaiting further instruction. A minute later, she felt Troy move behind her, and gently move his hands up to her head to untie the back of the scarf. The dark covering fell away, and Gabriella suddenly found herself blinded by light. She was standing in the middle of the stage at the East High auditorium, staring out into an empty audience.

"Troy what are we…"

The soft introduction of a very familiar song began to play, Troy having set up a stereo to the side of the stage.

_We're soaring, flying, there's not a star in heaven that we can't reach_

He glanced at her, smiling encouragingly, hopefully. Gabriella sighed, but nevertheless joined in with her part.

_If we're trying, then we're breaking free_

Just like the very first time they sang together at the lodge, all inhibitions slowly shed. Gabriella allowed the music, the emotion, the exhilaration, the excitement, the attraction – to completely encompass her voice and her body, but more importantly, her mind and her soul.

As they reached the final line of the song, Gabriella could feel her eyes welling up, overcome by the emotion.

_You know the world can see us, in a way that's different than who we are_

Troy pulled the remote out of his pocket, pointed it at the stereo and pressed stop, and then just turned back to her.

"Do you remember that feeling now?" he asked softly, closing the gap between them, taking her hands in his, holding them tightly between their chests.

Gabriella nodded, but her hesitation was still evident. "I do… and… it's amazing. But it's just about you and me here. Tomorrow… it's not about you and me. It's about Minnie and Arnold and the few hundred people watching."

"That's where you're wrong. It is just you and me. Don't think about the people that will be sitting in those seats. It's just like this, just like when it's you and me together. Use Darbus logic. You're not Minnie singing to Arnold… try just being Gabriella. It doesn't matter what they think," Troy said, motioning out into the audience. "You don't have to please anyone but yourself, you don't have to be anything but yourself. Like kindergarten."

Gabriella closed her eyes, nodding, trying to will away the forming tears.

"Thank you," she whispered into Troy's ear as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "For believing in me."

Miss Darbus had told them to find a way to spend the spare evening which would keep them relaxed, keep them calm, soothe their souls.

Troy was Gabriella's centre, her rock, her beacon of stability.

And there was no better way to spend the evening than being entangled in the languorous, probing kisses of the absolute sublime creation that was Troy Bolton; than being engulfed in the warm, safe, loving arms of the most amazing boyfriend a girl could ask for.

----------

_But your faith it gives me strength, strength to believe_

----------

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: ****Wanky much? Erm... so I know it was fluff but... I have to admit I kinda like it. Maybe I've been spending too much time lately working on my way in the future dark angsty fic. I escape back here into the simpler days of Here With You and allow the hopeless romantic within to be cute and fluffy.**

**Anyway, one, that's right, one, singular, chapter remains. Opening night of Twinkle Towne. **

**I'm still tweaking it… you have to realise that this story is like my child, and I'm like some crazy stage mother trying to tweak bits and pieces to just make it perfect when the reality is that no one is perfect and it is what it is and I should just allow it to be what it is and if you like it you like it and if you don't... then you don't.**


	36. Curtain Call

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own High School Musical, the songs, the lyrics, the characters etc. It I did, I would drop out of uni and instead be out rolling in my cash, and in the process of producing many M rated sequels starring a scantily clothed Zac Efron.**

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**HERE WITH YOU**

**Chapter 36 – Curtain Call**

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"No, no, we can't have the drink stall so close to the programs!" Miss Darbus's cry rang throughout the foyer. "What if there was some sort of spillage? A lot of money was paid to have these programs printed!"

The drama club volunteer who had just finished painstakingly setting up the drink stall gave Miss Darbus a tight lipped smile.

"Where would you like the stall then?" he asked, gritting his teeth.

"Anywhere but there!" she responded haphazardly, arms thrown in the air, her floaty dress flailing about and jewellery tinkling in unison.

Ryan Evans to the rescue. "How about over here, near the front entrance?" he suggested calmly.

Despite the need to prepare for his role in the show, Ryan Evans – as co-president of the drama club – was running around madly with Miss Darbus, ensuring that every last detail for the opening night had been addressed. Especially when his co-president was still at home preparing her hair and make up – seeing as she wasn't impressed with the change in dressing rooms leaving her with the back corner of a communal area.

"Backstage to Miss Darbus, backstage to Miss Darbus," a muffled, staticy voice sounded through the walkie talkie attached to Miss Darbus's hip.

"Yes Mr Hayes?"

"Just checking if you've seen Troy anywhere Miss Darbus. Shelley said she was meant to start doing his make up ten minutes ago and she can't find him. I thought you might have asked him to do something?"

"Why on earth would I be asking the star of the production to do something?!" Miss Darbus snapped. She whirled around the room, her shrill question directed at anyone within hearing distance. "Where is Mr Bolton? He was required in hair and make up ten minutes ago!"

No one spoke, just shook their heads and glanced at each other curiously.

"I'll find him," Ryan volunteered hastily.

He could only imagine the consequences if Miss Darbus went looking and found him at the gym making jumpshots or something. Although he seriously doubted that even Troy would actually be making jumpshots less than two hours before show time. He began with the auditorium, searching through the rehearsal rooms and backstage area. Ryan was beginning to question whether his first thought of Troy being at the gym was as farfetched as he thought. He knocked at the door to Troy's dressing room for the fifth time, and checked the boys bathroom for the sixth time.

Ryan glanced at his watch, seeing that it was 6:00. An hour and a half until show time. It was about time for him to begin his own hair and make up preparations. At this rate, he'd be looking for Troy right up until when the curtains went up. He furrowed his brow in worry, and headed in the direction of Gabriella's dressing room in a flurry, almost smashing into several people along the way. He pounded on the door urgently.

"Gabriella?!" he called anxiously.

"Come in," Gabriella called.

Ryan creaked open the door. He hadn't been into the room since it had been Sharpay's dressing room. It was amazing how different it now looked. Instead of photos of Sharpay adorning the mirror, Gabriella had outlines of the script, which featured blue coloured highlighter indicating when she needed to change, as well as descriptions of exactly what items encompassed each costume change. Little post it notes like "BTTT - LEFT kick, RIGHT step" also were stuck to the edges of the mirror. Additionally, there were two framed photos sitting on the vanity bench – one of a pair of adults Ryan could only assume to be Gabriella's parents, and one of Troy.

Gabriella was sitting at the vanity with Jasmine standing in front of her. The base of stage make up had been applied, and her hair was in dozens of bobby pins and under a hair net, keeping the wild mass of curls at bay to allow a wig to be applied.

"Have you seen Troy?" Ryan queried.

"Huh? I thought Shelley was meant to be doing his make up?"

"Well, yes, meant to be. He's disappeared off the face of the planet, I can't find him anywhere."

"I'm sure he's not too far away. Surely it can't take that long to do a boys stage make up," Gabriella said calmly.

"Darbus is on a warpath though. Do you know where he could be? I'm meant to find him NOW but I'm also meant to be in hair and make up NOW and I can only be in so many places at once!"

Gabriella sighed, recognising Ryan's panic, and turned to Jasmine. "Do I have time to go look?"

"There isn't much left to do here. I don't want to work on it yet anyway, or it will wear off before the show. Just be back by…" Jasmine glanced at the clock on the wall. "6:30."

----------

Without any hesitation, Gabriella headed straight for the science club rooftop garden. She quietly walked up the stairs, looking over to see Troy standing at the railing, staring out into the scenery.

"Hey you," Gabriella said softly. "What's going on? Everyone is looking for you."

Troy's reply was hoarse, and so low that Gabriella could barely hear him.

"The show is tonight."

Gabriella's eyes widened at the sight of Troy's face as he turned around. He was deathly pale, and sweating.

"Oh my God are you okay?" she exclaimed.

"Okay… that's a relative term, isn't it?" Troy enquired. "I don't think I can do this, Gabriella."

"Why? Do you feel sick? You don't look well," Gabriella said, walking over and pressing the back of her palm to his forehead.

"No… I'm not sick. I mean I feel sick but… not like that. I just had to get out of there. I felt all claustrophobic and panicky and like I couldn't breathe."

"Have my nerves transferred over to you?" Gabriella asked softly.

Troy shrugged, wringing his shaking hands. He sat down on the bench, grasping a hold of the wood plank beneath him, in an attempt to keep himself steady.

"I've been fine. I mean… it wasn't like I was pretending to be calm all week, I actually felt okay. A bit nervous, but it was all good. And then… I was even fine right up until we did the soundcheck today. But then I went and checked out the foyer. And I was looking at the program and there I was…. The little bio of me… have you read it?"

She shook her head. "No, I haven't seen the program."

Troy pulled out the program he had folded up and stuffed into his pocket.

"Troy Bolton is the captain of the East High Wildcats basketball team, and the first player ever to make the varsity team in his sophomore year."

"Umm…. Okay… which is bad because?" Gabriella asked, not understanding.

Troy looked up at Gabriella, who was still standing by the railing.

"Who the fuck are we kidding here? I'm not a performer! You… you have no reason to be nervous," he said, gesturing to Gabriella. He stared at her intently. "When you're up there singing… it's like you were born to be on stage. I know you don't think about it as a long term career type thing but… you captivate the people around you with your talent."

Gabriella blushed. Troy's eyes tore away from hers, staring at his sneakers.

"If I hadn't auditioned with you, there's no way they would have even considered me. Chad said it – I'm a hoops dude. My dad said it – I'm a play maker. I'm… I'm not a _singer_. I'm not a _performer_."

"Troy…" Gabriella began to say, but he interrupted her to continue talking.

"And I was there in the foyer and reading that line over and over and over. And I looked around and saw how nice it was all looking and it just HIT me. There's a show tonight, a real show, I'm going to be on stage, dancing, acting, singing, for half of fucking Albuquerque to watch me!"

Troy was now rambling, words running together, and his voice becoming more high pitched as he got himself more worked up

"And… then I was just imagining worst case scenarios and… it just came out of nowhere, suddenly, THAT'S when I decided to get nervous. It's so stupid, I've spent all week trying to comfort your nerves, why did mine choose to wait until two hours before the fucking show to come along?"

Gabriella rushed over, sitting next to him on the bench, and brought her hand up to touch his lips softly with her index finger.

"Ssshhh," she hushed him soothingly, trying to placate him by rubbing his back gently.

The truth was that Gabriella was somewhat at loss for words.

"This is just great, the girl who has been the basket case all week is supposed to sit here and comfort you. Right," she said out loud.

They sat in silence for a minute, Gabriella's hand still gently running over Troy's back as he took a moment to breathe in and out.

Troy cracked a smile, feeling slightly more composed. "I feel so guilty… the show starts in like, less than an hour and a half and here I am, all me me me."

"Why don't we just do it one step at a time?" Gabriella suggested. "Let's go back to the theatre and finish getting hair and make up done. Okay?"

Troy exhaled. "Okay. One step at a time."

----------

Troy was standing in his dressing room, staring in the mirror. Shelley had assured him that when on stage, the make up wasn't noticeable, rather that without make up his face would look all shiny with the bright lights. It probably didn't help that his face was still shiny from the beads of sweat. He was contemplating going and sticking his fingers down his throat, if it would get rid of the feeling of nausea in his stomach, when a knock came at the door.

"Troy?" Gabriella's voice sounded. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

The door swung open, and he saw not only Gabriella but Sharpay and Ryan. Troy raised his eyebrows.

"Yes?" he asked dubiously, standing up a little straighter.

"I've asked Sharpay and Ryan to come and help us with our vocal exercises," Gabriella said brightly.

"Vocal exercises? We do vocal exercises?" Troy asked, the confusion on his face evident.

"As of now. Guys, could you quickly show us again, like at that rehearsal you ran? And then you can go back to your preparations."

Sharpay was a little annoyed. She'd been in the middle of her own pre show vocal mantra when Gabriella had appeared asking for her assistance. Still, as co-president of the drama club, she felt obliged to make sure the show wasn't a complete failure. Ryan was more than willing to help if Gabriella thought that she and Troy would benefit from warming up their throats.

Ryan and Sharpay turned to one another, and as they had done many times in the past, proceeded to demonstrate what they had been taught was the optimum method for preparing one's throat, tongue and mouth to sing.

"Brrr, brrr, brrr, brrr… Mah! Mah! Mah! Mah! Eeee… owwww."

Gabriella smiled brightly. "Thanks guys! Okay, we'll work on that now. You're right to go."

Gabriella shooed the pair out of the dressing room.

"Okay, so let's warm up," Gabriella declared.

"Gabriella, I really don't think…"

"Come on, I think it will be good. So on three, one two three."

She began to 'brrr' and Troy, rolling his eyes, went along with it, believing that Gabriella was serious in thinking that the exercise would indeed be useful. The moment that she 'mah'ed at him however, he couldn't help but start laughing. Gabriella continued to 'mah' even without the reply 'mah'. His laughter continued even harder as she 'eeee'ed.

Gabriella stood back smugly as Troy couldn't help but laugh at her. It was exactly what she wanted, him to relax.

"That was fucking hilarious, do that again," he managed to say between snorts.

Gabriella didn't reply, but waited for his laughter to die down.

"Thanks," he said, feeling a little embarrassed about his outburst earlier.

"Anytime, Wildcat. Anyway… I have to go have a wig attached to my head. Can I trust that aren't going to take off and will be ready to go on?"

Troy nodded. "Even if I have to bring along a barf bucket."

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Gabriella and Troy stood in the wings, about to make their first entrance. She grasped a hold of his hand, squeezing it tightly.

"You and me, remember?" Gabriella whispered.

Troy nodded. "Like kindergarten."

----------

As the final upbeat song and dance came to a close, the lights shining on the rest of the cast in the background dimmed, leaving only Minnie and Arnold shining in bright spot lights, front and centre.

"Sometimes I feel like this isn't real," Arnold said.

"What isn't real?" Minnie asked.

"This… you and me… being here. Together. I've loved you for so long but I never really thought it possible that we could be together."

"Arnold, anything is possible if you believe enough in it."

"I guess that's it then Minnie. I believed in us."

The light sound of Kelsi's piano began to play, Minnie and Arnold breaking into the final short reprise which ended the show.

_This feeling's like no other, I want you to know_

_That I've never had someone that knows me like you do, the way you do_

_I've never had someone as good for me as you, no one like you_

_So lonely before, I finally found what I've been looking for_

Minnie and Arnold stood frozen, hands joined, gazing at one another adoringly, as the narrator provided the final voice over.

"This doesn't mark the end. It only marks the beginning. It marks the beginning of a grand love. A love certain to be filled with both triumphs and tribulations. But nevertheless, a love that shall be great and pure. Minnie and Arnold overcame great odds to prove that true love will always prevail."

And in accordance with Miss Darbus's explicit directions prohibiting a rigorous use of tongue, Minnie and Arnold kissed in a tender, passionate yet PG-13 rated manner.

The curtain closed, and the couple separated into opposite wings for the curtain call, watching as members of the chorus bowed in relevant groups, and then the ensemble cast. Troy was second last to saunter casually back on stage from the left. The crowd lifted into a standing ovation as he bowed. Wolf whistles and shrieks alike sounded from various parts of the audience. He then held his arm out to present Gabriella, who entered shyly from the right and curtsied. The applause continued, the shrieks dying down but the wolf whistling becoming louder.

Dark chocolate eyes and sparkling blue orbs gazed with enamour. In that moment as they stood centre stage, they didn't care about the watching eyes. They didn't care about Miss Darbus's words of warning about maintaining a level of appropriateness in the presence of children. Because it wasn't Minnie and Arnold.

It wasn't Minnie gazing adoringly at her Arnold. It wasn't Arnold staring lovingly at his Minnie.

Lips crashed together simultaneously, her arms wrapping around his neck as he ran his tongue along her bottom lip, seeking permission which she quickly granted.

They didn't hear the thunderous applause; they didn't hear the wolf whistles; they didn't notice the curtain pull shut across the stage.

Because all that mattered in that moment was that it was Troy, and it was Gabriella, and that they had one another.

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The stars of the show emerged hand in hand after changing back into street clothes and packing up their dressing rooms. They were immediately flanked by awaiting family and friends. Troy was pulled away from Gabriella by his mother, who captured him in a tight hug as she cried hysterically.

"You were so, so wonderful," she gushed and proceeded to kiss her son on one cheek and then the other and then on the forehead.

"Mom, we're in public!" Troy hissed, completely mortified.

Troy felt a warm, strong hand on his shoulder and he turned around to see his father waiting.

"I'm so proud of you son," Jack Bolton said, his own eyes welling a little. "And… I'm sorry for… for everything."

Troy nodded. Jack didn't need to be specific for Troy to understand what he was apologising for.

"Thanks dad."

Troy and Jack exchanged a manly hug, barely touching, hands patting the other one on the back.

Meanwhile Gabriella had been pulled aside by her own mother. The two Montez women shared a long, tight hug, rocking backwards and forwards slightly.

"He would be so, so, so proud of you," Elena murmured into her daughter's ear.

The moment she broke away from her mother, a random hand grabbed Gabriella's arm, and she spun around to see Taylor and Martha.

"Gabriella!" Taylor shrieked, wrapping her friend in an excited hug. "That was the most amazing show I've ever seen in my life!"

"Did you really like it?"

"Yes!" Martha agreed, also giving Gabriella a hug. "You guys were so, so amazing!"

"You really were," a voice said from behind.

Gabriella turned to see Ryan Evans.

"I just wanted to let you know that you and Troy were really amazing tonight," he said genuinely. "Don't ever tell my sister I said this, but I'm glad you guys got these parts. You were the right people to tell the story."

"Thanks Ryan," Gabriella said gratefully.

"I'll see you tomorrow night."

Someone tapped Gabriella on the shoulder, and she spun around to see the boys, Jason, Zeke and Chad.

"Very impressive Gab," Chad declared, hugging her.

"I think you should audition for American Idol!" Jason suggested.

"That might be a bit of an exaggeration," Gabriella said, blushing.

"No, you were awesome!" Zeke said.

"Didn't you think I was awesome?" a familiar male voice came from behind.

The guys turned around to see Troy approaching them with a wide grin.

"You were all right," Chad said aloofly.

Troy rolled his eyes, but the guys nevertheless gave him manly handshakes and hugs.

"Nah man, you rocked," Chad said.

"Even if some of the songs were a bit girly," Zeke said.

"Didn't you like my songs?" Kelsi's voice came from behind.

"Kelsi!" Gabriella squealed, giving her friend a hug.

"You were so amazing Gabriella," Kelsi whispered into her ear.

"Only because you made the show so amazing," Gabriella insisted.

"Yeah, it's all on you," Troy added.

Kelsi hugged Troy. "No, you guys put in so much work. Thank you so much!"

"I really liked your show," Jason said genuinely. "Are you going to write the next one?"

Kelsi shrugged. "I'll see what I can come up with."

The craziness continued for a while longer; with more hugs and congratulations; with photos being taken; with programs being signed. The night was wrapping up – after all, the young stars all had to return the following night, and then the night after that, to do it all over again.

Troy was talking to his father when Lucille came over, having just purchased ten extra programs.

"Okay I just got Gabriella to sign all of these, now I need you to sign each of them," Lucille instructed.

"Mom, have you snapped your cap?" Troy asked incredulously.

"I have to send one to your grandma, and one to your Aunt Faye, and one to…"

Troy tuned out, and was distracted by the pretty brunette making eyes at him across the room. She pointed to the ceiling. He immediately understood the reference, and nodded.

"Hey uh… listen. I might just make my way home in a bit, okay?" Troy said to his parents, who he knew were just about ready to go home.

Lucille and Jack exchanged a glance. Jack pulled his car keys out of his pocket, and held them out to Troy. "We drove here separately so, here."

"Just make sure Gabriella gets home safely," Lucille added.

Troy rolled his eyes, a little embarrassed that they just assumed he was going somewhere with his girlfriend, but nevertheless grateful.

"Thanks."

----------

Troy was surprised when he made it to the garden before Gabriella. He sat down on the bench, and was waiting for almost five minutes. He was beginning to wonder whether he'd been hallucinating earlier when seeing her gesture. Eventually she arrived.

"What took you so long?" Troy asked.

"I ran into Miss Darbus on my way trying to escape. She was gushing. I couldn't exactly say, right thanks see you tomorrow and run away!"

Gabriella sat beside him on the bench. They remained quiet for a while, listening to the sound of the trees rustling in the light breeze, the crickets chirping, a random bird squawking.

"One show down, two to go," Gabriella finally said, breaking the silence.

"You would think it would be a relief, you know? But… All the craziness of the last couple of months is just gonna keep going. I thought that with the musical over it would mean we get to rest. But I now have to really focus on my basketball again… We have another boot camp next weekend. And I have to start training even harder. Dad's putting a lot of pressure on me."

"I think you put pressure on yourself as well," Gabriella observed quietly.

"I know I do."

"I know what you mean though. We have the south western decathlon final coming up," Gabriella said. "You should see my diary. Taylor has already filled in about four decathlon meetings for each week, and the final is like a month away. I hate to see what it will be like the week before. And there's this other math competition that Mr Davis wants me to enter."

"Don't forget school," Troy said wryly. "We have to fit that in. And assignments. And tests."

"We're going to wish it was just musical rehearsals over and over again."

"Yes," Troy said bluntly. "Then at least you'd be there every step of the way."

"I'm still there just… not as physically present all the time."

They fell silent. Troy finally spoke again.

"I don't want the musical to be over."

"You like hanging around with Miss Darbus a lot?" Gabriella asked teasingly. "Or is it Sharpay's presence you find enlightening?"

"Darbus isn't that bad. She's a nutcase, but she's all right. I won't even go near the suggestion of Sharpay's presence being enlightening!" He cracked a smile, but turned very serious. "Being in this musical, it's like it's given me two months of…" he paused, trying to find the right word. "Freedom, I guess. Two months where I had this creative license to be… whoever I wanted to be. But once it's over… that ends, you know?"

"We have to deal with everything else in our lives," Gabriella said quietly.

Troy nodded. "Chad and Jay and Zeke… they keep talking about how I'm gonna have all this free time and it'll go back to how it was. Us guys, chilling out, playing ball and PlayStation. But… I don't WANT it to go back to how it was. I want to dedicate myself to basketball, on a different level, to find out if it is really something I want to pursue in the long term. I want to study and bring up my grades. I'm scared of going back to being who I was. Of being closed minded to everything that's out there, to not thinking that I could achieve anything big."

"You make it sound like being who you were was a bad thing," Gabriella said softly. "The person you are on the inside hasn't changed Troy. I bet you've always had the drive and the dedication, you've always wanted something more for yourself than the average person. You're just finding out the best ways to focus that energy."

"Thanks to you," Troy said, honestly, but shyly. "I kinda feel like I owe you my life. I don't know what I did to deserve you."

"Just being you is all you did. I wish you could see yourself how I see you."

"And how do you see me?" Troy asked flirtatiously.

Gabriella smiled. "Passionate… dedicated… loyal… a perfectionist… genuine…"

"Don't forget sexy," he pointed out, grinning. "You admitted it when I got my hair cut."

"Sexy," Gabriella conceded, with a smile.

"Good kisser," Troy supplied.

Gabriella giggled, but then a serious look came over her face. "Sometimes… I wonder if I'm dreaming. I actually pinch myself because… because I can't believe that you're with me. That we're together. That a person exists who can understand me, let alone be this amazingly brilliant person who I just want to spend every waking moment with. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and all of this will turn out to be a dream. Because this doesn't happen in the real world, does it? Falling… falling for someone. Like this."

Gabriella was staring at the floor, feeling a bit silly for having revealed herself so openly to him. Troy brought his index finger to her chin, tilting her head up.

"It's real," he said softly, pressing his lips to hers tenderly. "You're not dreaming."

"And what do you see when you look at me, Mr Bolton?" Gabriella asked cheekily.

"I guess it's not about what I see, is it?" Troy said. "I mean… I could tell that that I see a gorgeous, fiery, passionate, brilliant girl with a delectable ass. But it's more about what I feel."

Gabriella blushed. "Okay then… what do you feel?"

"I feel… peace," Troy finally said. "It's like… the world is this scary place. And there's so much that I don't know, that I don't understand. So much pressure, so much happening, almost too much happening. For the first time in so many years… it's like I just know that everything is going to be okay. As long as you're here with me."

"And I am," Gabriella said softly, her breath tickling against his face as she lingered just inches away from his lips.

"You are what?"

"Here with you. Always."

----------

_Now who'd have ever thought that we'd both be here tonight_

_And the world looks so much brighter with you by my side_

_I know that something has changed_

_Never felt this way, I know it's for real_

_This could be the start of something new_

_It feels so right to be here with you_

----------

**To all of my readers,**

When I embarked upon writing this story, I had no idea that it would explode into being this mega monster that it has become. I was thinking, yeah, ten chapters should do it. And then I just became filled with ideas and inspiration. The words came flowing out in this really really really really really slow pace. It was just…. It was just how it happened. But I think it worked. I hope it worked. Did it work? Bites fingernails

I would like to thank **every single person** who has ever left a review for this story, who has put this story onto alert or into their favourites list, who have clicked on the title and given it a go. You guys are so amazing, your words of encouragement seriously warm my heart. I've just had so much lovely feedback, I just feel so…. I feel **humbled** that people were able to appreciate the hours and hours that I have slaved on this thing. I feel touched when people tell me that I've made their day better, when people can look beyond the superficial surface and see that, within a very simple story, I was actually incorporating so many layers.

I don't like naming names, because then I feel like you might think that if I don't single you out that I don't appreciate your efforts and comments and thoughts. However there are a particular group of people who I really hope know who they are, who have just been so amazingly brilliant. People who have just consistently made the effort to give me their support, even if it's just in a few words, just to let me know that they're around and reading. People who, may not have been as consistent, but who nevertheless took the time to think about my work, to analyse it, to give me specific feedback, to tell me what they liked, to tell me what they thought DIDN'T work. People who acknowledged the things which, to the casual reader wouldn't be anything important, but in actual fact I put a whole heap of thought into. People who consider my work worthy of recommendation. People who listen to my ranting and whining and insecurities. It's you guys who inspire me to keep writing. It's you guys who made me go from just writing this one story to all of a sudden having this whole massive verse of stories in my head.

I just wanted to explain what is going to happen with the sequel. If you haven't read my rambling author's notes, you might be thinking "right, so you haven't actually FINISHED the plot here girlie!" Originally, I was going to just keep going with Here With You, including the plot I have in store for Play It My Way. Allowing me to keep the plot all in one place, as well as make my review count for this story look prettier. I would LOVE to break 500 reviews so I could go into that C2 but that isn't a reason to keep going.

But the fact is that they are two different stories. Here With You, perhaps is more about Troy but essentially it's TXG centric. Its purpose is to explore the development of the relationship of Troy and Gabriella, and to bridge the gaps between HSM and HSM2. The narrative flow of Here With You switches from Troy to Gabriella, and on occasion to other characters. On the other hand Play It My Way is a Troy centric tale written in a slightly different style to Here With You. Obviously, Troy's relationship with Gabriella is important to him so it is still TXG BUT this is not the purpose of the plot. There is a different vibe, and will be dealing with some slightly more mature issues which are going to make me very very very very seriously consider rating PIMW M – something I am hesitant of doing because I know it's harder to pick up readers once you rate something M due to it not coming straight up onto the recently updated page.

The other thing about this era, and hence why it becomes Troy centric for PIMW, is that the essence of this time period is that Troy and Gabriella spend very little time together. My take on HSM2, as a result of my perceptions of 'What Time Is It' and the opening scenes; are that Troy and Gabriella have had all of these outside forces preventing them from developing their relationship. 'The pressures off, now my girl's what it's all about… ready for some sunshine, for my heart to take a chance.' Suddenly the concept of being able to go to movies together and downloading music is something that hasn't happened for a while – so I can't have them continually seeing each other throughout this time. I don't WANT to continue to develop their relationship at the same rapid rate. I feel like I've gotten them to a point where they are relatively close to where they are at the beginning of HSM2. Not quite, but close to. Therefore, that is a feature of this time period during Play It My Way. That yes they are still in a strong relationship but it isn't growing, because of the pressure and the external forces and everything that is going on. This is contrary to the purpose of Here With You – to explore the progression. Hence why I'm probably going to write an epilogue to Here With You AFTER I publish all of Play It My Way. Just to wrap up where their relationship is at and provide the lead in to HSM2. Given the switch in the narrative, and the essence of the plot being different, PIMW is a separate story in my eyes, even though it directly continues the plot from Here With You.

Beyond PIMW, my brain has a whole timeline of stories which I would love to complete. I leave to go overseas in less than three weeks, and I'm not talking about going overseas for a few weeks, we're talking about six months or so. I'll probably finish writing and maybe posting PIMW before I go, and that'll be it. I've written bits and pieces of two stories set after post HSM2, one being another massive mofo set senior year (I know this has been done and is still being done by a bunch of authors but I have my reasons) and then another during the first year after high school. And I might be able to get more bits and pieces done whilst abroad but I don't know if I would want to commit to continuing a series whilst backpacking around the world. Not when you guys are going to be so used to me being an updating every few days author. I don't know if the quality of work that I want to attain, if I would be able to achieve sitting in an internet café, writing a chapter every week or so.

It's kind of this really unfortunate timing …. My muse is itching to write, but I've been planning this backpacking trip for years. And the two have just collided. Anyway, so I can't guarantee anything – especially when I'm going off into the world. For all I know I'll meet Zac Efron and we will fall in love and proceed to undertake activities designed for the production of babies and since I'll have him in real life I won't feel the need to write stories about him… I mean… his characters…. Any longer! (Baby V, still love you!)

Anyway.

I really hope that I've created some interest in what is to come from me. I think that many of you who have read HWY from start to finish can agree that on the whole, my writing has improved. Hopefully this growth will continue within my work which is to come. And we will just have to see what happens with my work beyond Play It My Way.

Thank you all once again. If I have somehow captured your attention to make you want to continue to read my work then I would suggest you _**review**_ this right now (I'm not ashamed to admit that there is a direct correlation between self esteem and the review count) and in the meantime click the 'author alert' button to make sure you know when I update!

With lots of love and kisses and hugs,

Danielle

or as you all know me, Pandora147


	37. PIMW AN

**PLAY IT MY WAY UPDATE**

There are about twice as many people who have Here With You on story alert as to who put me into their author alert. Perhaps this is an indication that you didn't care to read any more of my work! Just in case any of you guys were interested in reading the follow up and didn't receive the notification – I've just posted the first chapter of Play It My Way.

**Play It My Way Summary:**

Troy battles with himself, his perfectionist tendencies threatening to engulf him as he embarks upon the quest to achieve his goals. Troy centric; TxG; M for explicit language, drug/sexual references


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